The total amount of Ether — the token of the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency Ethereum — “burned” since the introduction of Ethereum Improvement Protocol (EIP) 1559 as part of the London hardfork has hit the 1 million ETH milestone, according to figures from blockchain data aggregation site WatchtheBurn.
Fast facts
- With the total amount of ETH burned sitting at 1,019,506, that equates to almost US$1.5 billion at current market rates, with ETH was trading at US$4,409.10 at press time, according to CoinMarketCap.
- The Ethereum blockchain implemented EIP 1559 as part of the London hardfork that went live in August. It intentionally destroys tokens as part of transaction fees, reducing the supply of ETH to increase its scarcity to ideally make the token a better store of value. Ethereum’s value has continued to increase since the London hardfork, when it was trading around US$2,500 at the time.
- Ethereum’s London hardfork was a key upgrade to the blockchain to prepare it for the transition to Ethereum 2 which would see the network swap its currency proof-of-work consensus model to a proof-of-stake, which would significantly reduce the energy requirements for maintaining the network.
- There are currently 118.5 million ETH in circulating supply, according to CoinMarketCap.