Ethereum reclaims $2,600 as transaction fees fall from 2026 peak

Ethereum rose to reclaim $2,600 on Friday as network transaction costs fell sharply from their 2026 peak. Chart analyst Ali Martinez said on Sep. 17 that Ethereum remained within its four-hour price channel despite heightened volatility in recent sessions. He said ETH had recently tested the channel's lower boundary, which could set up a rebound toward the midpoint and eventually the upper boundary around $2,570. Martinez identified $2,570 as the key breakout level, and ETH broke above it on Friday. He said a strong four-hour close above that level, supported by volume, could open the way to $2,700 and potentially $3,000. Santiment Intelligence data showed on Friday that Ethereum's average transaction fee had fallen to $0.095 per transfer, compared with a 2026 peak of $0.72 on April 21. Santiment attributed the decline partly to softer mainnet demand during the bearish summer and also pointed to Ethereum's expanding network capacity. The platform highlighted Fusaka, higher blob throughput, a 60 million gas limit and Layer-2 networks absorbing execution that previously competed for Ethereum mainnet block space. Lower fees make swaps, token transfers, DeFi transactions and stablecoin activity cheaper for users, potentially reducing a longstanding barrier to broader network usage. Santiment cautioned that cheaper transactions alone do not signal stronger demand. It said recovering ETH prices alongside low execution costs could create a more favorable environment if network participation increases.