Bitnexa — Crypto Network Fees | bitnexa.net
Base fee, priority fee, gas limit and the 21,000-gas transfer worked end to end.
Every Ethereum transaction pays for computation in gas. A plain ETH transfer always uses 21,000 gas, while token transfers and contract calls use more. The total fee is gas used multiplied by the sum of the base fee and the priority fee.
The base fee is set by the protocol for the next block. It can move at most 12.5% from the previous block and is burned, so it does not go to any validator. The priority fee is a tip chosen by the sender; it goes to the validator and influences how quickly the transaction is included.
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The block gas limit is about 36 million gas, and each block targets half of that. If a block uses more than the target, the base fee rises; if it uses less, the base fee falls. This is why a fee quote can change within minutes during a surge.
Worked example from ethereum.org: 21,000 gas at a base fee of 10 gwei plus a 2 gwei tip costs 252,000 gwei, which is 0.000252 ETH. At 20 gwei per unit, the same transfer costs 0.00042 ETH — about $1.26 at $3,000 per ETH.
A failed transaction still costs gas, because validators already spent the computation. Wallets usually show the maximum fee before you sign, so you can see the worst-case cost before broadcasting.
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