Article

Gas Fee

August 22, 2026 · Aditya Gupta

Crypto & Blockchain

Gas fees are transaction fees paid to blockchain network validators/miners for processing transactions and executing smart contracts. On Ethereum, gas costs depend on network congestion and computation complexity — simple ETH transfers might cost $1-5; complex DeFi transactions $20-200 during peak congestion. Layer 2 networks (Arbitrum, Base, Optimism) provide 10-100× cheaper transactions. Bitcoin transaction fees similarly fluctuate based on demand. EIP-1559 (2021) revamped Ethereum's fee market with a base fee that's burned (reducing ETH supply) plus a priority fee to validators. Gas optimization is a major focus of dApp development.

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