What's up with the fees? Why is gas so expensive?

Ethereum

Gas costs are a fact of life for the current state of the Ethereum blockchain. For every transaction, the network requires a “gas fee.” This fee constantly fluctuates based on supply and demand. The ETH blockchain can become busy at certain times of the day, resulting in higher costs or spikes in the amount of gas. 

We make sure to always show the estimated “gas fee” for every transaction so you can make informed decisions about how to use your money. When you are purchasing an NFT, please check the fee cost carefully. It’s important to note that Bitski doesn’t control or receive gas fees. Because of this, we cannot refund gas costs.

You may have noticed that gas is charged in units called "gwei”. This is simply a smaller unit of measurement of ETH. Think of it like a meter and a millimeter. You can check the gas prices of ETH anytime at https://etherscan.io/gastracker.

Pro tip: If you want to save a bit on the costs of transferring NFTs, you can try to pick times when the gas is lower. We've found this is usually during early mornings or weekends!

Please note that typically, one wallet shouldn't be cheaper or more expensive than another. When it comes to NFTs, what matters more is the NFT contract implementation! Currently, Bitski users ERC1155 NFTs.  While you might get quoted for a relatively high gas amount on the "Transfer NFT" button, this is the "max" gas possible, and the amount actually used should be lower. 👍

Polygon and other chains

Besides the ETH mainnet, there are incoming "layer 2" solutions and other blockchains that can drastically reduce minting and gas costs. Please stay tuned for announcements about these topics!