Ethereum Layer 2 Networks Urged to Adopt Responsive Pricing for Scalability

Offchain Labs co-founder Edward Felten emphasized the need for 'responsive pricing' in Ethereum Layer 2 networks during EthCC 2026. According to Odaily, Felten highlighted that while EIP-1559 has reformed the fee mechanism, current gas price volatility remains the primary method to prevent network overload, which is not conducive to mainstream user adoption. Responsive pricing could enable more transactions at lower gas prices without exceeding network capacity. The instability of transaction fees has long been seen as a major barrier to widespread adoption, especially when compared to the more predictable cost structures of traditional financial systems. The industry's focus has shifted from merely increasing throughput to making fees more predictable while accurately reflecting congestion costs. Notably, Arbitrum One introduced a dynamic pricing mechanism in January this year as an initial exploration of balancing fee stability with network security.