How Blockchain Network Fees Work
Every blockchain charges a network fee to process a transaction. The fee rewards the validators, miners, or sequencers that include your transaction in a block and protects the network from spam. How the fee is calculated depends on the network.
Fee Units
- Gwei: Ethereum, BNB Chain, Base, Arbitrum, Polygon, and other EVM networks price computation in gas. The total fee equals the gas used multiplied by the gas price, which is the base fee plus an optional priority fee, quoted in Gwei.
- sat/vB: Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Zcash price fees in satoshis per virtual byte, so larger transactions with more inputs cost more.
- Native coin: Solana, TRON, XRP Ledger, TON, Cardano, and many other networks charge a fee directly in their native coin, often with a fixed minimum.
Normal vs Fast
Normal is the recommended fee for confirmation under typical conditions. Fast pays a higher priority fee so your transaction is more likely to be included sooner when blocks are full. Networks with fixed fees show a single option.
Transfers, Token Transfers, and Swaps
A coin transfer is the cheapest transaction on most networks. Token transfers and swaps run smart contract code, so they use more gas or data and cost more at the same fee rate. Gem Wallet shows the exact network fee on the confirmation screen, so you always know what you pay before you sign.
