What are Ethereum gas fees, and who receives them?
Ethereum gas fees are network fees paid when your wallet submits certain transactions to the Ethereum blockchain. These fees compensate the Ethereum network for the computing resources required to process and permanently record the transaction.
Gas fees are separate from the price of a Mapstone NFT, Marketplace purchase, or other Mapstone charge.
Does Mapstone set or receive gas fees?
No. Mapstone does not set Ethereum gas fees and does not receive them.
Ethereum’s base fee is determined automatically by the network and changes based on current demand. Under Ethereum’s fee system:
- The base fee is set by the Ethereum protocol and is burned, meaning it is removed from circulation.
- The priority fee, sometimes called a tip, is paid to the Ethereum validator that processes the transaction.
Your wallet calculates an estimated gas fee before you approve a transaction. The estimate may change as Ethereum network conditions change.
Why do gas fees change?
Gas fees can increase or decrease based on:
- How busy the Ethereum network is
- The complexity of the transaction
- The priority fee selected by your wallet
- How quickly you want the transaction to be processed
The price of an NFT does not directly determine its gas fee. A lower-priced NFT can sometimes require the same network fee as a higher-priced NFT if both transactions perform similar blockchain actions.
Which Mapstone actions may require gas?
Actions that change blockchain ownership, balances, permissions, or Marketplace records may require an Ethereum gas fee. These may include:
- Minting an NFT
- Purchasing a listed NFT
- Accepting an offer
- Transferring an NFT to another wallet
- Approving the Marketplace to facilitate NFT or WETH transactions
- Cancelling certain Marketplace listings or offers
- Wrapping ETH into WETH
- Unwrapping WETH back into ETH
Connecting your wallet, viewing NFTs, browsing the Marketplace, and signing certain off-chain messages generally do not require gas. However, if an action also requires an on-chain approval or transaction, your wallet will display a separate confirmation request and estimated gas fee.
What happens if a transaction fails?
A failed blockchain transaction generally still consumes gas because the Ethereum network used computing resources to process it. The requested action will not be completed, but the gas used to process the failed attempt is normally not refunded.
Always review the transaction information and estimated fee carefully before confirming it through your wallet.
How much ETH should I keep in my wallet?
Your wallet should contain enough ETH to cover both:
- The amount required for the Mapstone transaction
- The estimated Ethereum network gas fee
When wrapping ETH into WETH, do not wrap your entire ETH balance. Leave enough ETH available to pay for the wrapping transaction and any future Ethereum gas fees.
How can I pay a lower gas fee?
Gas fees are often lower when fewer people are using the Ethereum network. If your transaction is not urgent, you may choose to wait and try again when network demand is lower.
Your wallet may also offer different processing-speed options. Be cautious when manually changing advanced gas settings. Selecting a fee that is too low may cause the transaction to remain pending for an extended period.
You can review current Ethereum network conditions using the Etherscan Gas Tracker.
For additional guidance, see:
