It would also mean that the current incentive to keep block sizes small due to increased orphaning probability would be removed ... and the block size limit debate is back on the table with more urgency.
No matter how much they optimize block creation,
somebody (not necessarily the same entity that does the hashing) has to build the Merkle tree, and whoever they are they can't process an infinite number of transactions per second.
As long as the ability of the network to process transactions isn't infinite, there will be some equilibrium price where the supply curve for transaction processing intersects with the demand curve.
It may just be that the price of transaction processing dropped a few orders of magnitude, which is a
good thing.
The ability to provide the same service at a lower price makes the network more useful.
