What is gas, and why does it change?

What you're actually paying for, and when it's cheapest to move.

Gas is what you pay to have your transaction included in a block, and the thing it prices is space, not distance or value.

A network processes transactions in batches with a size limit. When more people want in than the batch holds, the space is auctioned: attach a higher fee and you go first.

Which explains the two things that confuse people most. Sending five dollars costs the same as sending five million, because both take the same room. And there is no such thing as an international transfer here — where the recipient is has no effect on the price.

The fee moves with demand, so the same transfer can cost 40 cents on a quiet Sunday and twelve dollars during a busy launch. Nothing about your transaction changed; the queue did.

On networks that run programs, the fee is quoted as an amount of work multiplied by a price per unit. A simple transfer uses a small fixed amount. A swap, an approval or a mint uses considerably more.

You always pay in the network's own coin, which catches people out constantly: holding USDT on Ethereum with no ETH means you cannot move the USDT until you acquire a little ETH.

To pay less, move when the network is quiet and use the wallet's slower fee option when nothing is time-sensitive. The full page has the detail.

Last checked 19 Oct 2026.