While cryptocurrencies have been around for a long time, they are still confusing for many people. The less obvious and common concern about cryptocurrencies is the so-called transaction fees that differ from one coin to another and how to find the cheapest of them.
What is a crypto transaction fee?
A crypto transaction fee is essentially a fee that is charged to users when transferring coins from one account to another. In order for the transaction to pass and be recorded in the blockchain, a certain transaction fee is taken. It varies from coin to coin and depends on multiple factors which we will analyze in this article. The main purpose of a transaction fee is to make sure the transaction is validated to keep the corresponding platform running and developing – thus, to secure transactions.
Types of transaction fees
While we usually think of a transaction fee as the network commission of a certain cryptocurrency, that is, one operational transfer of its coins to another address, it’s also worth considering other types of fees that currently exist.
Blockchain transaction fee, or network fee
Blockchain transaction fee is a kind of fee used as an incentive for the miners on the network. Mining (and staking as well) commissions or transaction fees are small amounts of cryptocurrencies assigned to miners to process a transaction. These small payments reward the miners and stakers for the work done. All new transactions on the blockchain are recorded in blocks at regular intervals. The first record of all new transactions is made by the miner who managed to get the next coin. In addition, he also receives a reward for this operation.
Crypto exchange fees
Apart from mining commissions, there are also exchange fees. All cryptocurrency exchanges charge fees from their users, it’s one of the ways they make money along with selling advertising space and charging listing fees from ICO teams that want to see their token at an exchange.
Wallet fees
Another kind of commission is wallet fees that are charged for using a particular wallet. The money goes towards software development and maintenance of a digital wallet. There can also be withdrawal fees for when you want to take out a certain amount of coins.Notably, the more confirmations there are by most crypto wallets and exchanges, the better. This follows the general logic, according to which, with such a number of confirmations, the probability of this transaction being fake becomes rather low. Due to safety purposes, this number can be further extended in cases of network overload and 51% attacks.
Cryptocurrency with lowest transaction fees
- Naturally, people are interested in finding the lowest fees. Cryptocurrencies are already tricky and complicated enough, so a common concern is not losing money due to the fluctuations in the market and the hefty fees as well. Generally, the medium crypto transaction fee on the market is about $0.15-0.25 (and up to $25 for Bitcoin and Ethereum in a busy time like now). Here’s a list of the cheapest cryptocurrency transaction fees of the most popular coins according to the data of BitInfoCharts (March 2021). This data is approximate and can change after the time of the article being published so it’s worth double-checking on the official sources before making transactions. The list goes as follows:
- Ethereum Classic: transaction fee is so low that starts from $0.00023
- Bitcoin SV: has an average transaction fee starting from $0.0005
- Bitcoin Gold: at the moment, the cheapest transaction fee for BTG coin is about $0.00063
- Reddcoin: RDD's transaction fee is $0.00089
- Vertcoin: 0.002 dollars fee in average
- Bitcoin Cash: 0.0025 USD fee per transaction
- Dash: exchange fee equals $0.0051
- Litecoin's fee is $0.042
- DOGE: while Doge itself costs less than a dollar, its transaction fee of $0.242 remains extremely low,
What are the lowest fee cryptocurrencies? Zero-fee cryptocurrencies
Nano: cryptocurrency without transaction fees
Surprisingly, zero-fee cryptocurrency exists, and this is Nano. Except the lowest crypto fee in our list, the coin masters claim near-instant transactions. Nano works by utilizing Delegated Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism with a block lattice architecture where accounts have their own blockchains. It essentially means no need to incentivize miners for keeping the network secure using selected representatives instead. It ensures the cheapest transaction fee comparing to a traditional blockchain.
Dash: cryptocurrency almost without fees
Well, almost zero-fee, though it’s usually called feeless. The very point of Dash cryptocurrency is to be a fast and near feeless means of payment among people and businesses. On the official website, it is promised that with the help of Dash you can “say goodbye to chargebacks” – indeed, it’s quite profitable compared to other money transfer methods. Just check, any size transaction’s fee is less than $0.01, let alone they will remain anonymous! 
IOTA: tech novelty to ensure transactions without fees
One more cryptocurrency without blockchain in the list! IOTA literally charges no fee, demanding to validate two more transactions while creating one instead. You don’t need to incentivize miners if you as a user are a small miner yourself, huh?
Parameters that influence cryptocurrency fees?
While deciding on such parameters, it’s important to consider several factors. The amount of the fee charged can depend on how busy the native network of the coin is. For example, Ethereum currently has an average transaction value of 0.011 ETH equal to 19.41 USD which is much bigger than the average transaction value. This can also be explained by the fact that the system needs to run complicated decentralized apps. Following the previous example, a good rule of thumb when analyzing the peculiarities of the coins that influence their fees is also calculating how much is charged compared to the current value of the coin or token on the market. For example, Dash trades at $161.66, while its average transaction value is $0.0051.Transaction speed also influences the transaction fee. It can be standard, which is currently the most relevant case for the networks, and you can also set a custom option if you want your transaction to go faster. Bitcoin is a good example of this since its volatility results in exchange rate fluctuations and time becomes the defining factor in this case. Traders are willing to pay an increased commission so they don’t lose on such fluctuations.The fees charged also depend on the amount of crypto you are intended to transfer, how abundant it is, how much of the total amount of the coins is currently in circulation. The amount of the fee also depends on its native network. For example, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Bitcoin SV all have different transaction values. On several blockchains like Ethereum and in the case of Ethereum-based coins, the amount of the transaction can also depend on how busy the network is. In some cases, no transaction fees are charged, as is the case of IOTA. You need to take multiple factors into account when analyzing the fees. When in doubt, it’s also worth comparing the fees to those of other cryptocurrencies, similar in price, purpose, and popularity.
Where can you find current low cryptocurrency fees?
When you want to find the lowest cryptocurrency fees, consider that such fees change dramatically over time. You can get this info online: check the websites like Bitinfocharts to find current network fees for old but gold cryptocurrencies and keep an eye on the brand new developments – probably one day it will be possible to invest without fees entirely. To find the data about exchange or wallet fees, just check the FAQs of the exchange service you use. It won’t be complicated to imagine the final numbers since you know the difference we described above. Check the compilations of exchanges with the lowest fees if you are interested in trading as well – for example, on SwapSpace you can see the difference in various exchanges’ rates onscreen, and this helps to find a good deal.
Exchange crypto with best rates
SwapSpace provides exchange options for more than 420 cryptocurrencies and tokens and 150,000 exchange pairs, including zero and low-fee coins. Here you can find the rates based on 12 different exchanges and choose the lowest-fee cryptocurrency exchange. Exchange Nano and Dash and without extra fee added.
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