What Is a Metatransaction?

A metatransaction is like having a helper who carries out a task for you. In this case, it's executing a transaction that someone else has signed on your behalf. Instead of you needing to send this transaction to the public blockchain, the helper does it for you. So, metatransactions simplify things and save you the cost of using gas on public blockchains. All you have to do is sign the transaction with a click.

Usually, when you make a transaction on a public ledger, you sign it yourself, and it goes into a waiting area called the mempool. Miners then include your signed transaction in the next block. During this process, you're the one paying the gas fees, which can be a hassle. Plus, you usually have to pay these fees using the native token of the blockchain, even if you're using a decentralized app (dApp) with its own token.

Metatransactions change this by allowing dApps to handle the gas fees and token payments for you. Instead of you paying the fees, the dApp or another third party does it for you. For instance, a dApp developer might cover the gas fees to attract more users. They can also decide whether users need to use their own token to pay for gas or if they'll cover the costs entirely. In either case, they use metatransactions to manage the transaction on the blockchain and pay the necessary fees. All you need to do is sign the transaction, and you might not have to pay any gas fees at all.

The main advantage of metatransactions is that they make using blockchain applications much easier for users. They shift the burden of dealing with gas fees and transactions from the users to the developers or infrastructure behind the scenes.