Educational Post

What is transaction cost/fees?

Although crypto doesn't have a central bank or government, you still need to pay transaction costs to transfer these coins.

Blockchains such as Bitcoin (BTC) have built-in "network fees" that go to BTC miners. Since Bitcoin is a decentralized network, these crypto fees incentivize more people to use their computing power to validate BTC transactions. The higher the hash power is on the Bitcoin blockchain, the more resilient it is against hacks. 

Many other blockchains, such as Ethereum (ETH), charge transaction costs known as “gas fees.” Similar to Bitcoin's network fees, these gas payments go to the node operators who confirm transactions on Ethereum's blockchain. 

Individuals must also pay transaction fees when using centralised crypto exchanges (CExs). CEXs provide a centralized hub for buying and selling digital assets like stock brokerage websites. Every CEX has a different fee structure, but most charge commissions as well as withdrawal and deposit fees.

$BTC $ETH