Optimizing Blockchain Transaction Costs

Updating my hash on the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) is usually straightforward – until gas fees suddenly spike and make a simple update surprisingly costly. Here’s some tips to help you save on your transactions.

My Personal Experience with ENS Gas Fees

When I updated my hash on the Ethereum Name Service (ENS), gas fees varied depending on network conditions. The lowest fee I paid was about 0.00005817 ETH (around US$0.15), while the highest reached 0.00260856 ETH (approximately US$6.91). This range shows how volatile gas fees can be even for the same operation.

Keep in mind that uploading a hash or updating a record on ENS is a relatively simple smart contract interaction that costs less gas fee compared to deploying new smart contracts. Deploying a smart contract is often a costly operation, which requires significant gas fees proportional to the contract’s size and complexity.

Also, if you ever want to try playing with an ENS domain, the ENS domain registration fee (payable in ETH or fiat) is separate from gas fees. Registration costs depend on domain length and the duration for which you register the domain.

What Are Gas Fees?

Gas fees are the transaction costs paid to miners or validators who secure blockchain networks. They compensate for the computational work required to process transactions and execute smart contracts. Think of gas fee as the fuel that powers every blockchain operation.

3 Ways to Optimize Gas Fees

1. To optimize gas fees, use real-time tools like Etherscan or Blocknative to monitor live gas prices and network congestion.

2. Blocknative’s Gas Estimator browser extension can provide real-time alerts when Ethereum gas prices rise above or fall below your set thresholds, saving you from constant manual checks.

3. The wallet I use, MetaMask, also integrates gas tracking and allows you to set custom gas prices to balance cost and speed.