What are Gas Fees & Why are they charged
Gas fees are charges incurred when conducting transactions or interacting on blockchain networks, such as Polygon. These fees are an essential component of blockchain systems and help facilitate the secure and efficient processing of transactions.
In a blockchain network, transactions involve executing smart contracts or transferring digital assets (tokens) from one account to another. To process these transactions, computers on the network, known as miners, need to dedicate computational power and resources.
Let us think of the computer as a busy worker who has a lot of tasks to do. When you ask the computer to trade something, it needs to spend time and energy to make sure the trade happens correctly and it's fair and secure. This time and energy are like the "gas" in the computer world.
Gas is the unit of measure for how much computational work is required to process transactions and smart contracts.
Overall, gas fees are an essential aspect of blockchain networks, ensuring their security, efficiency, and sustainability. While it may seem like an additional cost, gas fees are necessary to maintain and incentivize the decentralized nature of blockchain ecosystems.