Available on Testnet today. Final Mainnet fee parameters are published before Mainnet launch.
What gas is
Every action on Whitechain uses computing resources, whether you send WBT, swap tokens, or call a smart contract. Gas is the unit that measures that work. You pay for the gas your transaction uses, which keeps the network running and prices out spam. You pay gas fees in WBT, not ETH. WBT is the native gas token, so you need a WBT balance to send any transaction. WBT is utilized solely as a functional utility token for network resource settlement. On Testnet, claim test WBT from the faucet.The two parts of a fee
A fee on Whitechain has two parts: the cost to run your transaction, and the cost to publish it to Ethereum. On a Layer 2 (L2), the second part can be the larger one when Ethereum is busy. It rises and falls with Ethereum’s own gas prices, even when Whitechain is quiet.
Your total is the two parts added together. Your wallet shows the combined number before you sign.
How the L2 fee is calculated
Three values set your L2 execution fee.
The L2 execution fee is the gas used times the gas price. The gas price is the base fee plus any priority fee, both measured per unit of gas. Whitechain is EVM-compatible, so an operation uses the same gas it would on Ethereum. The base fee follows EIP-1559, so each block adjusts it according to how full the previous block was. It never drops below the 5 gwei base fee floor, a protocol parameter that stops zero-fee spam. Protocol parameters including fee floors remain subject to future network upgrades and governance updates. At the floor the base fee adds a fraction of a cent to a normal transfer. The floor is recorded in Fee parameters on this page, which is the reference the other pages cite.
The L1 data fee
Whitechain writes every transaction to Ethereum, so its state can always be rebuilt. Posting that data costs ETH, and the L1 data fee covers it. This is the one fee component that a plain Ethereum transaction does not have. The charge depends on three inputs: the compressed size of your transaction, the current Ethereum base fee, and the current blob base fee (EIP-4844). Whitechain reads both Ethereum prices on-chain and refreshes them each L1 block. Ethereum’s base fee can move by at most 12.5% per block, so short-term swings stay small. The L1 data fee is charged on every transaction and cannot currently be limited by the transaction gas limit. The amount is an estimate taken at submission. Whitechain transaction finality, data availability (EIP-4844 blobs), and settlement depend entirely on underlying Ethereum L1 consensus mechanics. L1 data fees, batch submission cadence, and L1 finalization delays are dynamically dictated by external Ethereum network demand beyond the control of protocol maintainers. Protocol maintainers disclaim all liability for L1 network congestion, L1 block reorgs, or Ethereum consensus failures. Data is posted to Ethereum in compressed batches, so the real cost evens out over time and you never set it yourself.A worked example
The figures below assume the 5 gwei base fee floor. Each row shows the L2 execution fee at that floor, which is the gas used times the base fee. The L1 data fee is added on top and stays small in normal conditions. All USD values and token price assumptions are purely illustrative, non-binding, and subject to real-time market volatility.The USD calculation column uses a hypothetical reference benchmark of $50 per WBT strictly for mathematical formula demonstration. WBT trades dynamically on public markets, so check the live WBT price before using these numbers for planning. Numerical fee examples are non-binding, static illustrations and shall not be interpreted as financial projections, market quotes, or token value guarantees.
The observed gas price was 5.001 gwei, including a small tip, so the execution fee sits just above the 5 gwei estimate. The L1 data fee is a small share here because posting to Ethereum Sepolia is inexpensive. When Ethereum is busy, this part grows and can exceed the L2 execution fee. Testnet L1 costs do not reflect Mainnet, where posting to Ethereum costs more.
A failed transaction still pays for the gas it used, and both fee parts are always charged. The explorer may show only the L2 gas cost, so your balance can drop by more than that figure. The difference is the L1 data fee.
Common scenarios
Failed or reverted transactions consume EVM execution gas and L1 blob storage capacity up to the point of execution failure. Network validators and sequencers expend real-time computational resources and pay Ethereum settlement fees regardless of transaction outcome. All gas fees consumed by failed or reverted transactions are therefore strictly non-refundable and unrecoverable under applicable technology and consumer standards. Set a sufficient gas limit to avoid running out partway through a contract call.
Who receives the fee
The designated infrastructure sequencer node orders transactions, while the batcher component posts transaction data to Ethereum. The protocol collects transaction execution and data fees into automated on-chain fee vaults. The L1 data fee offsets the underlying L1 settlement costs incurred on Ethereum. Network fee structures, vault distributions, and operator fee parameters remain subject to protocol updates and operational governance.How Whitechain fees differ from Ethereum
Fee parameters
The values below are the current Testnet configuration.
With elasticity 6 and denominator 100, a full block raises the base fee by 5% and an empty block lowers it by 1%. Large moves take many blocks, even when demand rises.
Mainnet fee parameters are not final. The values above are the current Testnet configuration and may change. Confirmed Mainnet parameters are published here before Mainnet launch.
Estimating a fee
Use existing tooling. Libraries such as viem include OP Stack support and update when the fee formula changes across network upgrades, so your code keeps working without edits. Estimate the L2 execution fee the same way you would on Ethereum, and let the library return the L1 data fee. Whitechain provides no warranties regarding the precision of client-side software estimates. If you cannot use a library, read the L1 data fee from theGasPriceOracle predeploy at 0x420000000000000000000000000000000000000F on Testnet. This predeploy sits at the same fixed address on every OP Stack chain. Call getL1Fee with your serialized, unsigned transaction, since estimation happens before signing. Do not implement the formula yourself. It changes with network upgrades, and getL1Fee is kept in step.
Your total is the L2 execution fee (gas used times gas price) plus the L1 data fee. To avoid overpaying, let your wallet or library set the base fee, and add a priority fee only when you need faster inclusion. If an estimate looks high, check the current Ethereum gas price first, because the L1 data fee tracks it.
Whitechain uses the standard OP Stack fee model. For the full mechanism, including the exact L1 data fee formula, see the Optimism transaction fees documentation. The specific OP Stack upgrade active on Whitechain is being confirmed with engineering and is stated here before Mainnet launch.