Gas in Ethereum: what it is and why you need to know about it

Is it fast?

Gwei is simply a unit of measurement for gas prices on Ethereum. 1 gwei = 1 billion wei ( the smallest unit of ETH). Simply put: when you send tokens or interact with a smart contract, you need to pay a fee in gwei. The higher the gas price in gwei, the faster miners will process your transaction.

Why is this important at all?

Here is the essence: Ethereum requires computational power for each operation. This power is measured in “gas.” Gas is not money; it is just a measure of work. But you have to pay for this work, and you pay in gwei.

When the network is overloaded (, for example, during a popular NFT drop or token sale ), everyone starts raising the gas price so that their transaction goes through first. It works like an auction: whoever pays more gets their place in the block first.

How the fee is calculated

The formula is simple:

Total commission = Gas price ( in gwei) × Gas limit ( in units)

For example, if the gas price is 10 gwei and the gas limit is 100,000 units, then the fee will be 1,000,000 gwei.

For your information: 1 ETH = 1,000,000,000 gwei. So in the example above, it is approximately 0.001 ETH.

Gas limit - protection against silly code

Gas limit is the ceiling on spending. It prevents situations where a bug in a smart contract burns all your money on fees. If the transaction exceeds the limit, it is rejected.

Lowering the limit is dangerous (the transaction will not go through), raising it is also not advisable (you'll throw money away).

How to minimize payments

1. Track gas prices in real-time — there are websites like etherscan.io that show current rates. Send transactions during low demand periods (usually on weekends or at night).

2. Optimize the code — if you are a developer, write efficient smart contracts. Every unnecessary operation = additional gas fees.

3. Use Layer 2 solutions — Optimistic Rollups and zk-Rollups perform operations off the main chain but ensure security. The fees there are much lower.

The Future of Gas

Ethereum is constantly evolving. With layer two scaling, fees are decreasing. But for now — if you want to work effectively in Ethereum, understand the gas fees and keep an eye on gas prices.

FAQ:

• 1 ETH = how many gwei? 1 000 000 000
• What does the price of gas depend on? On supply and demand in the network.
• How to avoid high fees? Catch moments of low demand, use L2, or optimize the code.