Ethereum Wallets and Gas (for Non‑Technical People)
Source: Dev.to
What is an Ethereum wallet?
An Ethereum wallet is an app, browser extension, or hardware device that lets you create accounts, hold assets like ETH and tokens, and interact with dApps. Under the hood, it manages your cryptographic keys and signs transactions on your behalf.
- Public address – safe to share; people or apps can send you assets (like an account number).
- Private key or seed phrase – a secret that controls the account; anyone who has it can move everything in that wallet.
Non‑custodial wallets (e.g., MetaMask, many mobile wallets) give you direct control of keys.
Custodial wallets (some exchanges) hold keys for you and show balances in an account view.
What does a wallet actually do?
When you “use Ethereum”, the wallet does more than just display numbers. It:
- Shows you what a transaction or contract call will do (send ETH, approve a token spend, mint an NFT, stake, etc.).
- Asks you to confirm or reject the action.
- Signs the transaction with your private key and broadcasts it to the network for validators to include in a block.
Each wallet popup is essentially asking: “Do you really want this change recorded on‑chain, at this cost?”
What is gas on Ethereum?
On Ethereum, gas is the fee you pay to get the network to process your transaction or smart‑contract interaction. Validators use computing power and storage to execute your transaction; gas fees compensate them and prevent spam.
Every on‑chain action has:
- A certain amount of work required (measured in gas units).
- A price per unit of gas (in gwei, a tiny fraction of ETH) that changes depending on network demand.
Your total fee is roughly:
gas used × gas price (paid in ETH)Why do gas fees spike?
Ethereum has limited transaction capacity per block. When many users try to transact simultaneously, they bid up gas prices for faster inclusion—similar to surge pricing for block space.
- Simple transfers (sending ETH) usually consume less gas than complex DeFi or NFT interactions that involve multiple contracts.
- Time of day and network conditions matter; wallets and explorers often show estimated fees or let you choose between “slow / medium / fast” options with different prices.
As a user, you typically select how much you’re willing to pay for speed rather than setting gas mechanics from scratch.
How wallets and gas feel in a real dApp session
A typical dApp interaction looks like:
- Connect wallet – you grant the site permission to see your public address and suggest transactions; this step usually doesn’t cost gas.
- Approve a token – you authorize a smart contract to spend a specific token on your behalf (e.g., so a DEX can swap it). This on‑chain transaction costs gas.
- Do the main action – swap, lend, stake, mint, etc. Each of these is another transaction with its own gas fee.
For newcomers, the confusing part is that clicking a single button in a dApp may correspond to one or more real blockchain transactions, each with a visible cost in ETH.