What Is a Gwei?

Gwei is a small unit of Ether (ETH). A gwei or gigawei is defined as 1,000,000,000 wei, the smallest base unit of Ether. One gwei equals 0.000000001 or 10^9 ETH. Conversely, 1 ETH represents 1 billion gwei. 

Gwei is a useful denomination to calculate gas fees (paid to miners for transaction processing) in a convenient way. It also has the nickname "shannon," for Claude Shannon, a mathematician and cryptographer referred to as "the father of information theory." 

Ether (ETH) also has other base units, each nicknamed after an important personality whose work has helped the project in any way or form. 

What Happens if You Set Gwei Too Low?

Setting gwei too low can cause your transaction to be stuck in the blockchain due to insufficient gas fees. This can cause your transaction to fail or take a long time to be processed.

How Much Gwei Do I Need for Gas Fees?  

The amount of gwei required for gas fees depends on the complexity of the transaction and the current market conditions. Generally, the higher the gas price, the more gwei you will need to pay. You can check the current market price of gwei by using an Ethereum network explorer, such as Etherscan.

Gwei vs Sats

Gwei and Sats are units of measure for cryptocurrency. Gwei is a unit of Ethereum, while Sats are a unit of Bitcoin. Gwei is a smaller denomination of value than Sats, as one Gwei is equal to one-billionth of an Ethereum (1 Gwei = 0.000000001 ETH). Sats, on the other hand, are the smallest denomination of a Bitcoin, where one Sat is equal to one-hundred-millionth of a Bitcoin (1 Sat = 0.00000001 BTC).