My experience looking for cheap gas fees for Ethereum transactions at OpenSea NFT site
If we look at www.etherscan.io/gastracker, it’s possible to observe the fluctuating ETH gas fees for each transaction. At present the average is 234 gewi, or $10,19. This will ensure the transaction in just over 4 minutes, which is fine since we are not trading and in no rush. One could try the low gas fee at 214 gwei, and wait just over 6 minutes. This is the current logjam or bottleneck in the entire Ethereum system.
A couple of years ago gas fees were so much cheaper. Something has shifted on the Ethereum blockchaon. Increased usage has pushed up the fees which makes it less attractive for my third world wallet, where my fiat currency is worth 14x less than the US dollar.
There are supposed to be several scaling solutions or bridges or whatever second layer options are around now. MATIC/Polygon offer something, as well as Tezos, and Zilliqa. I read about these solutions, but when I want to use my Metamask wallet and mint my first NFT on www.opensea.io I’m obliged to pay an initial gas fee to get the ball rolling.
Everything has a cost in life, so I’m not complaining. Actually maybe I am, but I understand the situation. However, there is a way to beat the system, or at least get a good deal on these gas fees. The secret is to wait until the quiet hours, when there may be less congestion and the gas fees reduce.
If I wait until 8pm CST apparently, I can get a cheaper rate. However, that is 3am in my CAT zone, here in central African Time. Another reference said 5am EST is good, when much of USA is asleep of course. Do I have to adjust my sleep period to catch this prized time of the cycle? It may well be.
That said, this gas fee thing is also a bit random, and the fluctuations could arise at any moment, where the gwei reduce for a window of opportunity. I’m keen to mint my first NFT on OpenSea but the initial hurdle is my concern. In the long run it’s worth it, of course. A once off payment is fine. Even on Hive blockchain I pay an initial 5 Hive tokens for each minting of a new work.
The likelihood of selling my artwork on Opensea is slim though, or perhaps I’m just bearish in this regard. Works do sell there all the time, loads of them, and for much better prices than on Hive, so it is probably a good investment to pay this initial gas fee. It’s only around $10 apparently.
My reluctance is a subjective block in my own mind. I need to overcome it. There is no other way to launch a career on OpenSea it seems. The captain of the ship that takes us across the open sea requires his boarding fee, so we have to cross his palm with some coin. As a result I’m standing on the shore watching the tide of the fluctuating gas fee and waiting for a lull, so to speak.
Apparently one can also simply go to another site like www.mintable.app to launch our NFT for free. I am busy trying out all these options right now. It’s an exciting time to approach this learning curve all for the purpose of being more blockchain savvy, and fluent in cryptospeak. If it allows me to launch my art career and make money from minting NFTs, then it’s well worth it.
The money is flowing in that direction right now, and if OpenSea get their massive funding from angel investors now, it could launch yet another flotilla upon those open seas, as the next wave of hype hits the industry.
Between Youtube videos, Discord chats and general asking around the blockchain community, I am piecing together the map to the fabled treasure of a gallery space on the Ethereum blockchain via one of the biggest platform for NFTs globally right now. It’s actually all quite straight forward in hindsight, but one always needs to do your own research and be careful of the numerous mistakes in the initial learning curve.
If anyone has any suggestions, then please leave them in the comments section. I want to launch my artworks and I’m almost there, on the OpenSea. Just need to cast off and push my galleon out and into the open waters of the deep, away from the harbor.
Let’s see if the tide of gwei gas fees reaches a calm moment where I can sail forth and pay the minimum for the transaction, which should actually be free, as it is on other blockchains generally, though not all. One day the solutions will all be in place. But not for OpenSea just yet, despite their Zilliqa and Matic/Polygon or Tezos links.
And as I write this the gas fee has just dropped to 177 gwei right now, or just under $8, which is already an improvement. I might be in luck and catch a good opportunity here to mint this NFT after all before the night is out. It is a quiet time now I would imagine. Such is the life of a digital artist on the blockchain.
Everything comes to those who wait. I’m going to wait a bit longer and see if the fees drop still lower, to say around 100 gwei. Not too far to go now. I will keep you informed.
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