Gas
Gas is the fee a blockchain network charges to process a transaction, usually paid in the network's own native asset. SODAX coordinates actions that span networks, and an action like that can involve gas on more than one of them.
What it refers to
Gas is the fee a blockchain network charges to process a transaction. The term comes from Ethereum and other EVM networks, where gas measures the computation a transaction uses and the fee is that amount times a gas price. Other networks call the same thing a transaction fee or network fee. It is usually paid in the network's own native asset, such as ETH on Ethereum, SOL on Solana or BTC on Bitcoin.
Gas is a network fee, not an app fee: it is separate from any fee an app sets on top of a trade.
Why this concept exists
Each block has limited space, and every transaction uses some of the network's resources. Fees decide which transactions get in when demand is high, pay those who process and secure the network, and make it costly to flood the network with spam. Because demand changes, the fee for the same transaction can rise and fall over minutes or hours.
What this changes for system design
A cross-network execution touches several networks, each with its own fee asset, fee level and confirmation timing. A system that coordinates such actions has to account for the fee on every network involved, not only the one where the action starts.
A cross-network action is also asynchronous: each network confirms its step on its own schedule, and a busy network can take longer. On SODAX, execution depends on conditions on each network involved, including congestion, and the system tracks each step until the action settles.
Related terms
- Cross-network execution: actions that touch several networks
- Asynchronous reality: networks confirm on their own schedules
- EVM and non-EVM: where the word gas comes from
- Spoke: the SODAX endpoint on each network
- Settlement: the point an action becomes final