1. Reasons for high fees in the crypto space
Blockchain network mechanisms
High proof-of-work (PoW) costs: Cryptocurrencies like BTC and ETH (during PoW phase) rely on miners to process transactions, and fees are one of the main sources of income for miners. When the network is congested, users need to increase fees to compete for priority confirmation.
Gas fee mechanism (Ethereum): Ethereum's gas fees are determined by computational complexity, and interactions with smart contracts (e.g., DeFi, NFT transactions) require more gas, causing fees to spike during surges in demand.
Market supply and demand fluctuations
During bull markets or when popular projects launch, a large influx of users can lead to network congestion and increased fees. For example, during the NFT craze in 2021, Ethereum gas fees once exceeded $100.
Trading platform rules
Centralized exchange (CEX) rate tiers: Taker rates are usually higher than maker rates, and some platforms charge fixed withdrawal fees (which may be higher than actual costs).
Decentralized exchanges (DEX) rely on mainnet: Trades on DEX like Uniswap require payment of on-chain gas fees, which are directly affected by public chain congestion.
2. Core methods to save on fees
1. Optimize transaction timing
Avoid peak times:
Bitcoin: Check real-time pending transaction volume via blockchain explorer and choose low congestion periods for transfers.
Ethereum: Use gas tracking tools to operate at night or on weekends, as gas fees may drop below 5 Gwei.
3. Use trading strategies and tools
Batch processing transactions: Merge multiple transfers into a single operation to reduce total fees.
Limit order placement (Maker): Place orders on CEX to provide liquidity and enjoy lower rates (e.g., Binance Maker rate is 0.1%, Taker is 0.2%).
Hold platform tokens to offset fees: For example, holding BNB (Binance) or HT (Huobi) can get discounts of up to 25%.
Enable fee rebate services: Start fee rebates through invitation codes; depending on the size of the platform, the rebate ratio can vary, so it's best to choose larger exchanges for safety and assurance.
Invitation code required for drops
4. Protocol and asset selection
Cross-chain asset substitution: Use USDT-TRC20 (Tron chain) instead of USDT-ERC20, reducing the cost of a single transfer from $5 to $0.1.
Dynamic fee adjustment: Wallets like MetaMask support custom gas fees, allowing manual setting of reasonable limits.
5. Avoid unnecessary operations
Reduce small frequent transactions: Accumulate a certain amount and perform a single operation to lower the proportion of fees.
Use smart contracts cautiously: Complex contract interactions (e.g., staking, lending) may trigger high gas fees, prioritize Layer 2 or sidechain protocols.
3. Things to pay attention to
Prioritize security: When choosing Layer 2 or new public chains, ensure they have undergone security audits (e.g., Arbitrum, Optimism have become mainstream).
Withdrawal fee comparison: Before withdrawing from CEX, compare fees on different chains (e.g., Binance allows withdrawing ETH on BEP20 network, which has lower fees than ERC20).
By using the above strategies, users can significantly reduce trading costs, especially during bear markets or low network load periods. Ultimately, choices should be made based on individual needs (speed, cost, security).
