network-economics

A <a href="/en/glossary/network-economics/gas-fee/">Gas Fee</a> is what a user pays for a transaction to be processed and included by a blockchain network — in most modern designs, part gets burned and part goes to validators — fundamentally the price paid for occupying limited <a href="https://crypto-bible.com/en/glossary/blockchain-fundamentals/block/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Block</a> space and computational resources. It isn't a fixed amount, but a market price that floats with network congestion.

The extra value a validator or <a href="https://crypto-bible.com/en/glossary/blockchain-fundamentals/block/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Block</a> builder can extract from a block by controlling how transactions are ordered, inserted, or excluded, arising from mechanisms like sandwich attacks, <a href="https://crypto-bible.com/en/glossary/derivatives-and-leverage/liquidation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Liquidation</a> <a href="https://crypto-bible.com/en/glossary/trading-concepts/arbitrage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arbitrage</a>, and cross-exchange price arbitrage.