What if you could use stablecoins like USDT to cover gas fees, no native token required?
That’s what Kaia’s new Gas Abstraction unlocks.
A trustless system where you pay gas in whatever token you hold, with no relayers, no extra steps, no wallet juggling.
Here’s how it works and why it matters 🧵
The Problem
To use any Web3 app, you need the chain’s native token for gas.
Even if you already hold stablecoins, you’re blocked until you get $KAIA, just to make a transaction.
That’s backwards UX for stablecoins-as-money.
The Fix: Gas Abstraction
Kaia lets you pay fees in tokens like USDT.
No native KAIA is required.
The network handles the conversion trustlessly and atomically, all within a single block.
How It Works
Every “gasless” transaction triggers this sequence:
• Proposer lends KAIA for the fee
• User’s token (e.g. USDT) is approved
• Token is swapped via Kaia’s GaslessSwapRouter
• Proposer is reimbursed instantly
• Your original tx executes
→ All or nothing. If one part fails, nothing goes through.
→ No need for centralized relayers or dApp changes.
Why It’s Different
Others use relayers (meta-tx) or rely on third-party solutions like paymasters, creating new trust problems.
Kaia's version is protocol-native: block proposers do the work and get reimbursed in the same block.
• No third parties
• No downtime
• No censorship risks
Why It Matters
For stablecoins to actually be used in payments, they can’t rely on secondary tokens.
Gas Abstraction makes stablecoin payments seamless, you can send, swap, or play without holding KAIA.
This unlocks things like:
• Cross-border USDT remittance
• In-game purchases with just stablecoins
• Onboarding users without first teaching them about gas
Live on Testnet, Mainnet Next
Kaia’s GA is live on the Kairos testnet.
It launches to mainnet users in July 2025 with Kaia v2.0.
It initially supports major tokens (e.g., USDT, ecosystem tokens) and expands via governance.
With this, gas it fades into the background. Just like it should.
