To execute what amounted to a no-op on the EVM global computer, this individual deployed this [1] smart contract, and then ran it [2].

The compute cost involved, measured in so-called gas fees, were 0.496 ETH for the contract deployment, and 0.197 ETH for the execution, around $3,000 USD total.

Transaction fees are through the roof. To buy 0.025 ETH (~$110 USD) worth of SHIB tokens, the memecoin de jour, I'd have to pay an equal amount in gas fees. Yes, 100% transaction fee. Buying $20 worth is completely out of the question.

[1]: https://etherscan.io/address/0x9b5a5c5800c91af9c965b3bf06ad2...

[2]: https://etherscan.io/tx/0x92488a00dfa0746c300c66a716e6cc11ba...