Gas tokens gain 300% as the quest for Ethereum network alternatives expands

Gas tokens quietly move higher as the cost of transacting on the Ethereum network highlights the benefits of dual-token models with stable fees. Network congestion and high transaction costs on the Ethereum (ETH) network have been a persistent issue for investors and developers for the past year and this has shone a spotlight on blockchain projects that offer a solution to these issues. 

One class of tokens that has received a boost in both trading volume and price over the past two months are gas tokens that help power transactions on their respective blockchain networks.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets and TradingView shows that Gas (GAS), Ontology Gas (ONG) and VeThor Token (VTHO) have all seen their prices increase more than 300% since the beginning of February thanks to increased attention on dual-token models. 

VTHO/USDT

VeThor Token is one of the two tokens that were launched on the VeChain Thor public blockchain following the project's rebrand in 2018. VeChain (VET) is the native token of the platform and performs as the primary value-transfer token while VTHO is a VIP-180 standard token, meaning it represents the cost of transacting on the VeChain Thor blockchain.

Since hitting a low of $0.00125 on Feb. 1, the price of VTHO rocketed 615% to a high of $0.00897 on Feb. 13 thanks to a record $325 million in trading volume. After a correction that saw the price drop to $0.0037, VTHO is now climbing again and trades above $0.008.

VTHO is inseparable from the overall functionality of VeChain Thor as it also represents the smart contract layer of the network, handing all transactions and smart contract executions. As part of the dual-token model, VTHO is automatically distributed to VET holders at rates ranging from 1.4% to 1.9% depending on the wallet provider. This is similar to the staking reward model and provides additional incentives to those that hold VET.

GAS/USD

Neo (NEO) was one of the first projects to popularize the dual-token model with transactions on the network being paid with Gas (GAS). Similar to the VeChain Thor token model, users who hold Neo in a wallet they control automatically earn staking rewards at a rate of 1.61%, which is paid in the form of GAS.

Excitement for GAS began to pick up in early February as information about the launch of Neo3 began to pick up alongside the development of cross-chain bridges to Ethereum and the Binance Smart Chain.

GAS traded at a low of $1.79 on Feb. 1 before a record $1.5 billion in trading volume saw it’s price spike to a high of $15.80 on Feb. 21, just as transaction fees on the Ethereum network were surging to their highest level in 6 months. While gas fees on Ethereum have decreased by more than half since Feb. 23, the high price of Ether continues to make transacting on the network unmanageable for the average user while transactions on the Neo blockchain cost an average of 0.001 GAS.

As the Neo ecosystem expands with the growth of DeFi platforms like Flamingo Finance and the Switcheo decentralized exchange, GAS has the potential to see further upside by offering a more fixed, low-cost alternative for blockchain transactions.

ONG/USDT

Ontology Gas is the transaction token of the Ontology (ONT) blockchain which specializes in digital identity and data management. Users who hold ONT in qualified wallets can earn an average of 8.56% interest that is paid in the form of ONG which can be traded or used to pay transaction costs.

Central features of the Ontology network include ONT ID, the digital ID application that is utilized throughout the ecosystem and the decentralized data exchange DDFX, which enables data tokenization, data tracing and cross-system data processing.

Ontology was designed to support cross-chain integration and Layer 2 scalability, with projects like the Wing.finance DeFi platform which offers support for Neo and Ethereum based tokens, as well as the ONTO wallet which recently achieved support for 12 separate blockchains including Polkadot (DOT) and the Binance Smart Chain

As activity on the Ontology network began to increase and its ecosystem expanded, ONG experienced a 480% price rally from $0.196 on Feb. 1 to a high of $1.137 on Feb. 21 with the token reaching a record $1.42 billion in 24-hour trading volume. All transactions on the network rely on ONG for completion and as Ontology's ecosystem continues to grow, ONG is likely to see a healthy surge in demand which could lead to further price appreciation.