◈ GLOSSARY · CRYPTO & WEB3
Gas Fee.
A definition, in plain English — with the books that teach it.
Reviewed by ClearValue Editorial Team · Jun 27, 2026
◈ DEFINITION
What it means
Definition
The transaction fee paid to the network (usually Ethereum) to have your transaction included in a block and executed. 'Gas' measures how much computational work the transaction needs; the fee is gas × the price you bid per unit. The honest caveat: gas fees spike when the network is busy — sending $50 worth of tokens during a popular NFT mint can genuinely cost more in gas than the tokens are worth.
◈ IN PRACTICE
Example
A simple ETH transfer might cost $2-5 in gas on a quiet day. During the peak of the 2021 NFT boom, a single Uniswap swap routinely cost $100-300 in gas because demand for block space was through the roof.