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DeFi Education5 min read

Ethereum Gas Explained: EIP-1559 and Beyond

A clear guide to how Ethereum gas works, what EIP-1559 changed, and practical tips for optimizing transaction costs.

What Is Gas?

Gas is the unit measuring computational effort on Ethereum. Every operation — sending ETH, swapping tokens, deploying contracts — requires gas. You pay gas fees in ETH to compensate validators for processing your transaction.

EIP-1559: The Fee Market Revolution

Before EIP-1559, gas pricing was a blind auction. Now fees have two components:

  • Base fee: Algorithmically determined by network congestion, burned (removed from supply)
  • Priority fee (tip): Optional tip to validators for faster inclusion

Understanding Gas Costs

  • Simple ETH transfer: ~21,000 gas
  • ERC-20 token transfer: ~65,000 gas
  • DEX swap: ~150,000-300,000 gas
  • Complex DeFi interaction: ~500,000+ gas
Total cost = gas used x (base fee + priority fee)

Tips for Saving on Gas

  • Time your transactions: Gas is cheapest on weekends and late-night UTC
  • Use L2s: Same operations for 10-100x less on Arbitrum, Base, or Optimism
  • Batch operations: Some protocols let you batch multiple actions
  • Set gas limits wisely: Do not overpay priority fees in non-urgent situations
  • Use gas trackers: Monitor current gas prices before transacting

    • How Alkizen Minimizes Gas Costs

    Alkizen routes through optimal paths considering gas costs. For same-chain swaps, the router picks the most gas-efficient DEX. For cross-chain operations, Relay batches and optimizes bridge transactions.

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