Just a quick note that if you were ready to ask for a withdrawal at $1, you are about to get an unpleasant surprise: you cannot get that payout - and obviously, it's all about withdrawals in Ether, since it makes no sense to ask for a withdrawal in AMPL or FARM. The limit is now at $2.

Is it gas fees again?

Not really. Although the price is again on the rise, there are time windows where you can get gas price as low as 60 gwei or lower. And since payments are made through smart contracts, adding a few hundred addresses doesn't add to the overall cost that much.

Regardless, what's most disturbing, is that there was not even the slightest hint on that.

And this is a demonstration of disrespect to this community.