Ethereum User Pays $700K in Fees for Zero-Value Transaction

An anonymous Ethereum user recently paid an enormous transaction fee of 288 ETH, valued at over $700,000, according to blockchain tracker Whale Alert.

What makes this case even more unusual is that the transaction itself transferred zero ETH to the receiving address, while the entire amount was spent on gas fees.

Typically, high gas fees occur during periods of heavy network congestion or market volatility, but Ethereum’s fees have remained relatively low in 2024, largely due to activity shifting to layer-2 networks after the March Dencun upgrade.

This upgrade significantly reduced gas costs and made fees more predictable, thanks to Ethereum’s revamped fee structure introduced by EIP-1559 in 2021.

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While it’s unclear why the user paid such an exorbitant fee for a null transaction, speculation has arisen about whether it was a simple mistake or something more malicious.

According to blockchain expert MevRefund, there’s a possibility the transaction was the result of a hack, with the attacker intentionally burning the stolen ETH by paying an inflated fee.

Alexander Stefanov