User Guide: Gas

Gas is the unit of measure for how much computational work is required to process transactions and smart contracts. Essentially a transaction fee, the term originates from Ethereum, in which context it refers to computation undertaken on the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Since Ethereum was founded, numerous EVM-compatible (and non-EVM-compatible!) networks have emerged and adopted similar models.

The method for calculating gas fees varies depending on the network. Across the broad range of EVM-compatible networks available, gas, or similarly-functioning alternatives, have essentially become the standard method of calculating transaction costs. Fees are paid in the network’s native token: for example, any transaction on Ethereum requires ETH; using BSC requires BNB; using Polygon requires MATIC.