The cost paid by the sender to have a transaction processed and included in a block. Fees compensate validators/miners for computation and prevent spam. Fee models vary: Ethereum uses dynamic gas pricing (EIP-1559 base fee + tip), Solana uses base fee (5,000 lamports) + optional priority fee, Bitcoin uses fee-per-byte.
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The cost paid by the sender to have a transaction processed and included in a block. Fees compensate validators/miners for computation and prevent spam. Fee models vary: Ethereum uses dynamic gas pricing (EIP-1559 base fee + tip), Solana uses base fee (5,000 lamports) + optional priority fee, Bitcoin uses fee-per-byte.
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Transaction Fee (transaction-fee-general) Category: Blockchain General Definition: The cost paid by the sender to have a transaction processed and included in a block. Fees compensate validators/miners for computation and prevent spam. Fee models vary: Ethereum uses dynamic gas pricing (EIP-1559 base fee + tip), Solana uses base fee (5,000 lamports) + optional priority fee, Bitcoin uses fee-per-byte. Related: Gas, Priority Fee
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A unit measuring the computational effort required to execute operations on a blockchain. On Ethereum, gas is priced in gwei (10^-9 ETH) and varies with network demand. Users set gas limits and gas prices; unused gas is refunded. Solana uses 'compute units' as its equivalent, with much lower costs (~$0.00025 per transaction vs. $1-100+ on Ethereum).
An optional additional fee paid on top of the base fee to increase the likelihood that a transaction is processed quickly by the current leader, expressed as a price in micro-lamports per compute unit (CU). The total priority fee equals (compute unit price × compute unit limit) / 1,000,000 lamports. Leaders sort transactions in their queue by fee-per-CU, so setting a competitive priority fee is the primary mechanism for ensuring reliable transaction landing during congestion.
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A Zcash transaction where sender address, receiver address, and amount are encrypted using zk-SNARKs, providing cryptographic privacy while allowing network nodes to verify validity without learning private details. Shielded transactions operate within dedicated value pools (Sapling or Orchard), each with independent circuit designs. Users can selectively disclose transaction details to third parties using viewing keys without compromising spending authority.
An Ethereum transaction type introduced in the Dencun upgrade (March 2024) that carries binary large objects (blobs) of temporary off-chain data. Each blob is 128 KB, committed via KZG polynomial commitments, and stored for ~18 days before pruning. Blob transactions created a separate fee market and reduced Layer 2 rollup fees by 10-100x by providing cheap, temporary data availability.
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A unit measuring the computational effort required to execute operations on a blockchain. On Ethereum, gas is priced in gwei (10^-9 ETH) and varies with network demand. Users set gas limits and gas prices; unused gas is refunded. Solana uses 'compute units' as its equivalent, with much lower costs (~$0.00025 per transaction vs. $1-100+ on Ethereum).
An optional additional fee paid on top of the base fee to increase the likelihood that a transaction is processed quickly by the current leader, expressed as a price in micro-lamports per compute unit (CU). The total priority fee equals (compute unit price × compute unit limit) / 1,000,000 lamports. Leaders sort transactions in their queue by fee-per-CU, so setting a competitive priority fee is the primary mechanism for ensuring reliable transaction landing during congestion.
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A distributed, append-only ledger that records transactions in cryptographically linked blocks. Each block contains a hash of the previous block, forming an immutable chain. Nodes in the network maintain copies of the ledger and reach agreement through consensus mechanisms. Blockchains enable trustless, decentralized record-keeping without a central authority.
The protocol by which nodes in a distributed network agree on the current state of the ledger. Common mechanisms include Proof of Work (Bitcoin), Proof of Stake (Ethereum, Solana), and BFT variants. Consensus ensures all honest nodes converge on the same transaction history despite potential network delays or malicious actors.
A consensus mechanism where validators are selected to produce blocks based on the amount of cryptocurrency they have staked (locked) as collateral. PoS is energy-efficient compared to Proof of Work. Misbehaving validators risk losing their stake (slashing). Solana, Ethereum (post-Merge), Cosmos, and Cardano use PoS variants.
A consensus mechanism where miners compete to solve computationally expensive puzzles to produce blocks and earn rewards. PoW provides strong security (51% attack resistance) but is energy-intensive. Bitcoin and pre-Merge Ethereum use PoW. The difficulty adjusts to maintain target block times regardless of total network hash power.