Crypto transactions involve three distinct types of costs, each paid to a different party for a different reason. Understanding which applies to a given action explains why fees vary across platforms and over time.
Published September 15, 2026 · 2 min read
A network fee (sometimes called a gas fee) is paid to the blockchain network itself to process a transaction, and its size depends on the specific network used and how busy it is at that moment, not on the wallet or card provider. This fee compensates miners or validators for including your transaction in a block. A transaction on a congested network costs more than the same transaction during a quiet period, because you are competing with other users for limited block space.
A spread is the gap between the buy and sell price a service applies when converting between currencies or assets, a cost built into the exchange rate rather than a separately listed fee. If a service shows a buy price of 1.02 and a sell price of 0.98 for the same asset, the 0.04 difference is the spread, and it represents the service's margin on the conversion. Spreads are less visible than explicit fees because they are embedded in the rate itself, not listed as a line item.
A service fee is a fee the wallet, card, or exchange provider charges directly for a specific action, like issuing a card or making a withdrawal, and is usually the most clearly disclosed of the three since it is listed as its own line item. These fees cover the provider's operating costs and are typically fixed or percentage-based. A card ATM withdrawal fee or a monthly account fee are examples of service fees.
Understanding which of these three applies to a given transaction, and that more than one can apply to the same transaction, helps explain why the same nominal action can cost different amounts on different platforms or at different times. A wallet-to-wallet transfer might incur only a network fee, while a card payment might involve a network fee, a spread on the currency conversion, and a service fee for the card transaction. Comparing total cost requires adding all three, not just looking at the most visible one.
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