💨 What Are Gas Fees?

🏗️ Introduction

Have you ever tried to send cryptocurrency and noticed an extra fee? That’s called a gas fee.

Gas fees are payments made to blockchain validators for processing and confirming transactions.

🔹 Required for every transaction – Sending, swapping, staking, etc.
🔹 Paid in the blockchain’s native token – (ETH for Ethereum, SIRI for SiriuX).
🔹 Prices change based on network congestion – Higher demand = Higher fees.

Let’s break down how gas fees work and how to reduce costs!

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🔥 Why Do We Pay Gas Fees?

Gas fees are like toll fees for using a blockchain.

📌 They pay for:
⚙️ Computational power – Running smart contracts requires processing power.
⛓ Security – Fees prevent spam and keep the network decentralized.
🎯 Incentives for validators – Miners (PoW) and stakers (PoS) get rewards.

💡 Example:

• Alice wants to swap ETH for USDT on Uniswap.
• The transaction requires a smart contract execution.
• She pays gas fees to validators to confirm the transaction.

✅ Without gas fees, blockchains would be vulnerable to spam attacks.

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💰 How Are Gas Fees Calculated?

Each blockchain calculates gas fees differently, but let’s focus on Ethereum, which uses:

Gas Fee Formula:
📌 Total Gas Fee = Gas Units Used × Gas Price

🔹 Gas Units Used

• Every transaction requires a fixed amount of gas.
• Simple transactions (sending ETH) use less gas (~21,000 gas).
• Complex transactions (NFTs, DeFi swaps) use more gas.

🔹 Gas Price (GWEI)

• Gas fees are measured in GWEI (1 GWEI = 0.000000001 ETH).
• Users can increase gas prices to process transactions faster.

💡 Example:

• Sending ETH = 21,000 gas × 20 GWEI = 0.00042 ETH in fees.
• If the network is congested, gas price may rise to 100 GWEI, increasing fees.

✅ Ethereum’s EIP-1559 upgrade introduced "Base Fee + Tip" to make gas pricing more predictable.

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⚡ Gas Fees on Different Blockchains

📌 Ethereum gas fees are the highest due to network congestion.
📌 Layer 2 solutions (Arbitrum, Optimism) help reduce Ethereum gas costs.

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🛠️ How to Reduce Gas Fees?

🔹 Use Layer 2 solutions – Arbitrum, Optimism, and zk-rollups lower fees.
🔹 Time your transactions – Gas prices are lower during off-peak hours.
🔹 Choose gas-friendly blockchains – SiriuX, Polygon, BSC offer lower fees.
🔹 Batch transactions – Some wallets allow combining transactions to save fees.

💡 Example:

• Swapping tokens on Ethereum might cost $50 in gas fees.
• Doing the same swap on SiriuX could cost $0.01.

✅ Choosing the right blockchain can save you money!

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🎯 Gas Fees Keep the Blockchain Running

🔹 Gas fees pay validators and prevent spam attacks.
🔹 Fees vary by blockchain—Ethereum is expensive, SiriuX is cheap.
🔹 You can reduce fees using Layer 2 solutions or cheaper networks.

🚀 Next Lesson: What is a Fork in Blockchain? Understanding Hard Forks & Soft Forks!