Update on the Network Fees.
29 Nov 2022, 13:39
ℹ️ Update on the Network Fees
The network was designed explicitly so that you only pay gas once, and never need to post additional transactions on destination chains or perform relays, as those services will be covered from your initial transaction. It enables very simple UX, but you need to account for all these steps when deducing the gas fees used for processing.
Also, moving forwards Axelar's plan to address fees ⬇️
Short-Term Features:
The fee collected by the network was increased due to spiking gas fees on the Ethereum network a few weeks ago. The teams will revisit the gas fees at the network and reduce if/when possible. But they will fluctuate with Ethereum gas prices. The relay fee is set to cover gas fees on average across all interconnected chains [but largely influenced by Ethereum, of course].
Mid-Term Features:
Next, the teams are working on a number of optimizations that will go live on the network to further reduce fees:
✅ A new deposit service. It will have a more cost efficient way to process step #2. It's live on the testnet now and will transition to mainnet soon.
✅ Exposing the ability to send tokens directly to the gateway [without using the deposit address, and hence eliminating step/fee 2]. You can do it today, just the front-ends need to integrate this flow. This will work if you’re sending from a “smart” wallet, like Metamask and will cost very little.
✅ As more traffic is generated via the network, the amortized cost in the batches decreases.