Plain English
A gas fee is the cost of executing a transaction or smart contract on a blockchain. On Ethereum, gas fees are paid in ETH and go to the validators who include the transaction in a block.
How it actually works
Every operation on Ethereum (a simple transfer, a token swap, a DeFi position open) consumes a measurable amount of computational work — measured in “gas units.” The total fee is gas units multiplied by gas price. Gas price fluctuates with demand: when the network is busy, fees spike. Layer 2s exist primarily to push fees down dramatically.
What it means for you
Gas fees affect the economics of every on-chain action. Small transactions on Ethereum mainnet are sometimes uneconomic. Members route most active DeFi to Layer 2 networks where the same transaction costs cents instead of dollars.
We cover gas-fee optimization: timing transactions, choosing the right Layer 2, batching operations, and the practical math of when mainnet still makes sense.
Educational content only. Not investment, tax, or legal advice.