Transaction Fee Bidding
Transaction fee bidding is the mechanism by which users and bots compete for block space by setting the price they are willing to pay for transaction inclusion. In most blockchains, the protocol rewards the validator who includes the transaction with the fee paid.
Because block space is limited, users who want their transactions processed quickly must bid higher fees. This bidding process is central to how the network prioritizes transactions and is the primary driver of gas price fluctuations.
When network activity is high, fee bidding becomes intense, often resulting in high costs for users. This mechanism also facilitates the extraction of MEV, as searchers will bid aggressively to ensure their profitable transactions are included before others.
It is the core economic engine that dictates the speed and priority of on-chain operations.