Gas fees are too high to do anything
A simple swap wants more in fees than the trade is worth.
What is actually happening
Ethereum mainnet fees rise with demand. At busy times a small trade genuinely is not economic.
How to fix it
- Check a gas tracker and wait. Fees swing enormously across the day, and weekends are usually cheaper.
- Use a layer 2 such as Base, Arbitrum or Optimism, where the same swap costs cents.
- Batch what you can. One transaction that does several things beats several transactions.
- Set a lower priority fee if you are not in a hurry, but expect it to take longer.
If a trade only makes sense at low gas, it probably was not a good trade. Fees are a real cost and belong in the calculation before you enter.
RELATED
Transaction stuck pendingYour transaction has sat as Pending for minutes or hours and nothing is moving.Transaction failed but the gas was still takenThe transaction reverted, you got nothing, and the fee left your wallet anyway.Token is not showing in my walletThe block explorer shows the tokens arrived, but the wallet shows nothing.I sent tokens to the wrong networkYou withdrew to your address but picked the wrong chain, and the balance is not where you expected.
RISK WARNING
Crypto assets are highly volatile and largely unregulated. You can lose everything you put in.
Nothing on this page is financial, investment or tax advice, and nothing here is a recommendation
to buy or sell any asset. Do your own research and never commit money you cannot afford to lose.