Gas Fees

Gas fees are the costs you pay to process transactions on a blockchain—the digital ledger that records cryptocurrency trades. Think of it like a transaction fee at a bank, except it goes to the network of computers that verify and record your trade instead of a company's profit. You'll encounter gas fees whenever you buy, sell, or transfer crypto assets. They matter because they can significantly eat into your returns, especially on smaller trades or during busy network periods when fees spike. For example, if you're swapping $100 of one token for another on Ethereum, gas fees might cost you $5 to $50 depending on network congestion—so knowing when to trade can save you real money.