Crypto fees drop 44.6% on average in first half of 2026

Crypto fees drop sharply in the first half of 2026 compared to the second half of 2025. The average decline is as high as 44.6%, while the median stands at 42.2%. This points to a broad decrease in user activity that hits nearly all segments of the market, from decentralised exchanges to NFT marketplaces.

See below for the transaction fees of crypto exchanges for more context on how fees are structured in the sector.

DEX and L1 remain the largest fee generators despite steep declines

Despite the downward trend, DEX and L1 are still the sectors generating the most fees. DEX stands at $1.10 billion in H1 2026, but that is a drop of 52.5% compared to the $2.32 billion in H2 2025. Fees on L1 networks come in at $1.60 billion, representing a decline of 26.2% compared to the $2.17 billion earlier.

Derivatives, lending and liquid staking also show substantial declines. Derivatives generate $551 million in fees, a decrease of 36.6%. Lending follows with $529 million and a drop of 43.7%, while liquid staking brings in $503 million, exactly matching the median decline of 42.2%. Infrastructure, L2 and RWA show similar trends with declines between 38.9% and 49.4%.

NFT marketplaces hit hard with a decline of 82.5%

The biggest blow falls on the NFT segment. NFT marketplaces see their fees collapse by 82.5%, from $40.6 million in H2 2025 to just $7.1 million in H1 2026. That is by far the steepest decline of all measured categories and indicates that interest in NFT trading is currently minimal.

The broad downturn across all segments suggests that users are less active on blockchains in general. Whether this is a temporary dip or a structural shift remains to be seen. Earlier it was reported that AI is the most popular category for crypto funding in 2026, which may indicate that capital and attention are shifting to other corners of the market.