Why is gas the most important thing you need to understand about crypto? What are the nuances?

Now many are moving from exchanges to decentralized wallets. The first thing you will encounter outside of the exchanges is Gas.

Gas is needed everywhere, you need to constantly think about Gas, Gas can be different.

📚What is Gas?

In simple words: this is the commission for transactions on blockchain platforms for smart contracts. Gas is a fuel for the network, like gasoline for an engine.

Examples:

• When you send ETH on the Ethereum network, you pay some ETH for sending.

• When you send BNB on the BSC network, you pay some BNB to send it.

• When you send SOL on the Solana network, you pay some SOL for sending.

Everything seems to be simple. But the hardest part starts when you send tokens that run on a specific blockchain.

There are various tokens on the Ethereum blockchain: USDT, USDC, UNI, DAI, LINK and the like. To send any of them from a (non-exchange) wallet, you still need to pay a fee in ETH.

There is a very simple logic: if the token works on the Ethereum blockchain, then you need ETH to send any transaction.

If the token runs on the BNB Smart Chain, then you need to have some BNB in ​​your wallet to send any token, such as CAKE, BUSD, or XVS.

But that's not all, let's move on to a more complex level:

• Gas is needed for any action on the blockchain: creating a smart contract, interacting with a smart contract, creating NFTs, sending NFTs, and much more.

• The commission in blockchains is not always fixed. The user can pay more Gas to speed up the transaction.

• You don't always need to pay a fee in ETH to send ETH. If you have ETH tokens that are transferred to the BSC blockchain, then you need BNB to send within this blockchain. If you have Bitcoins on the Ethereum blockchain, such as WBTC, then you need to pay not BTC, but ETH to send them. The logic is the same: Gas depends on the blockchain on which this or that token works.

• NFTs require the most Gas in blockchains.

• Sending USDT on the Ethereum blockchain requires ETH, Sending USDT on the BSC blockchain requires BNB, Sending USDT on the TRON blockchain requires TRX.

• Most wallets have a hint on the right next to the tokens. If ERC20 is written in brackets next to the name of the token, then you need ETH (ERC20) to send this token. If BEP20 is in brackets, you need BNB (BEP20). If it says BEP2, you need BNB (BEP2). If TRC20, then TRX is needed.

💰Who do you pay gas to?

Miners/validators process and validate transactions, as well as ensure the security of the network - for this they receive a reward, i.e. Gas. There is a direct dependence of network security on the size of the transaction fee that the miner can receive. The more they earn, the higher the stability of the system.