Plain English
A gas fee is what you pay miners or validators to process your transaction. The more complex the transaction (simple transfer vs DeFi swap vs minting an NFT), the more gas it consumes. The busier the network, the higher the price per unit of gas.
How it actually works
Total fee = gas used × gas price. Gas used is determined by the computational complexity of the transaction; gas price is set by market demand for block space. On Ethereum mainnet, fees can range from $1 to $100+ depending on congestion. On L2s and alt-L1s like Solana, fees are typically a fraction of a cent.
EIP-1559 split Ethereum fees into a base fee (burned) and a priority tip (paid to validators). The base fee adjusts each block based on demand.
What it means for you
Gas fees are a real input cost for any active strategy. Yield-farming a position with a 5% APY on a $1,000 stake is destroyed by $50 of gas every entry/exit. The HNW approach: batch operations, use gas-efficient chains for high-frequency activity, and reserve Ethereum mainnet for size where the fee is rounding error.
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Educational content only. Not investment, tax, or legal advice.