# Proposal: Increase Secret Network Minimum Gas Fees **URL:** \ **Category:** Secret Governance\ **Created:** [August 24, 2026, 10:12am UTC](https://forum.scrt.network/t/proposal-increase-secret-network-minimum-gas-fees/8035 "2026-08-24T10:12:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jiricepelka](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex035/user_avatar/forum.scrt.network/jiricepelka/32/4004_2.png) [@Jiricepelka](https://forum.scrt.network/u/Jiricepelka)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2026, 10:12am UTC](https://forum.scrt.network/t/proposal-increase-secret-network-minimum-gas-fees/8035/1 "2026-08-24T10:12:46Z")
Secret Network has operated with essentially the same gas-fee tiers for roughly three years. Given the substantial movement in SCRT’s price and the recent increase in token supply, I would like to start a discussion on raising the network’s minimum gas-fee tiers. At present, transaction-fee revenue is approximately **$100–$200 per month**. This amount is not materially meaningful for the network’s finances and does not move the chain toward long-term sustainability. ## Current costs Using the average tier of `0.1 uSCRT/gas`, estimated transaction costs are currently: | Transaction | Fee in SCRT | Approx. USD cost | | --- | --- | --- | | SCRT transfer | 0.001274 SCRT | $0.000013 | | Wrap | 0.007406 SCRT | $0.00013 | | SNIP-20 transfer | 0.009494 SCRT | $0.00017 | | ShadeSwap swap | 0.141457 SCRT | $0.0025 | For context, a SNIP-20 transfer is currently around 15× cheaper than an ERC-20 transfer on Arbitrum, based on the comparison used here. ## Suggested new tiers I propose a minimum **5× increase** , broadly corresponding to the recent approximate increase in supply. In particular, the low tier should be brought closer to 1/2 of the average tier rather than remaining at 1/8. | Tier | Current gas price | Proposed gas price | Change | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Low | 0.0125 uSCRT/gas | 0.25 uSCRT/gas | 20× | | Average | 0.1 uSCRT/gas | 0.5 uSCRT/gas | 5× | | High | 0.25 uSCRT/gas | 1.25 uSCRT/gas | 5× | ## Arguments for Higher Fees - **Sustainability:** The network is currently far from fee profitability. A long-term goal should be for transaction fees to cover at least a meaningful portion of validator operating costs. - **SCRT demand:** Transactions require SCRT for gas. A higher level of on-chain economic activity expressed in SCRT creates more structural demand for the token. - **Spam resistance:** When SCRT falls in dollar terms while nominal gas prices remain unchanged, the real cost of executing transactions drops. Extremely cheap blockspace raises the risk that spam or abusive traffic becomes economically viable. - **Better alignment with resource use:** Secret transactions—especially privacy-preserving contract operations—consume scarce validator and enclave resources. Fees should reflect that cost more credibly than fractions of a cent. ## Arguments Against Higher Fees - **Usage sensitivity:** Secret Network’s on-chain usage is already on the ground. Raising fees could discourage users, applications, and developers. - **IBC relay costs:** Higher fees increase the operating cost of IBC relayers. This should be manageable through the validator program, or alternatively could be subsidized through staking rewards or an SNF. ---
**Author:** ![Chasn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8797f3/32.png) [@Chasn](https://forum.scrt.network/u/Chasn)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2026, 8:20pm UTC](https://forum.scrt.network/t/proposal-increase-secret-network-minimum-gas-fees/8035/2 "2026-08-26T20:20:10Z")
I don’t understand why this hasn’t gotten more views/criticism. I’m new to the community. Interested in being a part of this new infrastructure. I will be taking notes in the meantime about what this community has done/plans to do. Life isn’t always about staying on top, but rather showing resilience in the midst of captivating troubles. It’s not necessarily about the fall itself, but rather how the entity recovers from the fall, after the fact. I’m here for the ride now. That being said, this seems like a great framework to alleviate load off the demand for fees. Leveraging some of that gain back into the network, at least until some sort of remediation begins to be visible. ---
**Author:** ![Jiricepelka](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex035/user_avatar/forum.scrt.network/jiricepelka/32/4004_2.png) [@Jiricepelka](https://forum.scrt.network/u/Jiricepelka)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2026, 7:48am UTC](https://forum.scrt.network/t/proposal-increase-secret-network-minimum-gas-fees/8035/3 "2026-09-09T07:48:01Z")
If there is no further discussion within a week, I will launch a Signal proposal to increase fees as above. At the same time, I will propose an increase in the minimum deposit for governance proposals. Normal proposal: 1,000 SCRT → 5,000 SCRT Expedited proposal: 2,500 SCRT → 12,500 SCRT ---
**Author:** ![tvnobby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@tvnobby](https://forum.scrt.network/u/tvnobby)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2026, 10:25pm UTC](https://forum.scrt.network/t/proposal-increase-secret-network-minimum-gas-fees/8035/4 "2026-09-17T22:25:12Z")
Keeping gas and transaction fees artificially low forever is the blockchain equivalent of running a luxury hotel where the rooms are free and you hope the minibar will somehow cover the mortgage. Raising them isn’t greed — it’s acknowledging that viability requires actual revenue. A network that can’t pay for its own security, development, and operations is just a very expensive science experiment with better marketing. Smart networks charge what they’re worth. The ones that don’t eventually discover that “free” is the most expensive price of all