Gas fees confuse and frustrate many crypto newcomers. On Ethereum, a single swap can cost in fees — more than the trade itself. On Polygon, the same swap costs a fraction of a penny. Here's everything you need to know.
What is Gas?
Gas is the unit of computational work required to process a blockchain transaction. Every action on the blockchain — transferring tokens, swapping on Uniswap, approving a contract — requires computation. Validators processing that computation charge a fee: the gas fee. You pay gas fees in the network's native token (MATIC on Polygon, ETH on Ethereum).
How Polygon Gas Works
On Polygon, gas prices are measured in Gwei (1 Gwei = 0.000000001 MATIC). Typical Polygon gas prices range from 30–100 Gwei. A simple INRC transfer costs approximately 21,000 gas units. At 50 Gwei, that's 0.00105 MATIC — worth about ₹0.08 (less than 1 paisa) at current prices.
How Much MATIC Do You Need?
For typical INRC interactions:
- Simple INRC transfer: ~0.001 MATIC (~₹0.08)
- Uniswap swap: ~0.01 MATIC (~₹0.80)
- Adding liquidity: ~0.02 MATIC (~₹1.60)
Having 1 MATIC in your wallet (~₹80) provides enough gas for hundreds of transactions. This is the fundamental difference that makes INRC accessible to everyone.
Getting MATIC for Gas
The cheapest way to get MATIC for gas is to buy it on an Indian exchange (WazirX, CoinDCX) and withdraw directly to your Polygon wallet address. Always withdraw the Polygon (MATIC) version — not the ERC-20 wrapped version on Ethereum.
Gas Optimization Tips
- Check gas prices on polygonscan.com/gastracker before transacting
- Lower-traffic periods (late night, weekends) have lower gas prices
- Set gas to "standard" — "fast" is rarely necessary on Polygon
- Batch multiple approvals in a single session to save on gas