This problem they found out to be as a result of most of the users voluntarily paying more just so they could use the blockchain, in turn boosting the calculations of
the gas oracle.
Johnson explained that
the gas oracle — today used by popular wallets such as MyEtherWallet, MetaMask, Shapeshift, and others — calculates transactions costs for users based on fees paid in the most recent ethereum transactions.
According to Johnson, the core issue seems to be that some users were simply paying more to use the blockchain, boosting
the gas oracle calculation.