Ethereum Gas Fees Soar to 8-Month High Amid ERC-404 Hype

According to Cointelegraph: Gas fees on the Ethereum network surged to levels not witnessed since May 2023, hitting an average peak of 70 gwei ($60 for a standard transaction) on February 9. Concomitantly, peak gas costs rocketed to as high as 377 gwei.
Gas fees surged as high as 377 gwei on Feb. 9. Source: Etherscan
The sudden jump in gas prices coincided with escalating buzz around the ERC-404 token standard, an experimental decentralized finance (DeFi) innovation causing a stir in the crypto world. The ERC-404 standard aims to merge properties of ERC-721 (NFTs) and ERC-20 tokens, essentially forming fractionable nonfungible tokens (NFTs). This makes it possible for multiple wallets to each possess a share of a single NFT and leverage that fraction for trading or staking.
An extraordinary increment of over 6,100% and transaction volumes exceeding $474 million have been recorded for projects following the ERC-404 launch on February 5 by Pandora. However, the name "ERC-404" is unofficial, and the team behind the standard is diligently working on significantly diminishing gas charges to spur wider adoption.
In an interview with Cointelegraph on February 9, a Pandora developer known as "ctrl" mentioned the team's goal to decrease gas fees by around 300% to 400% to foster more significant adoption and integration of the protocol.