Transactions and fees on Solana

Every action on a blockchain is a transaction: a signed instruction to change something in the shared record. Sending SOL, sending a token, using an app on-chain, all of it. Here's how one works on Solana, and what it costs.

How a transaction goes

1. An app or a wallet builds the request. For example, "send 0.1 SOL from this address to that one".
2. You review it and approve. Your wallet signs it with your private key.
3. It goes to the network. Solana checks the signature and that the sender can cover it.
4. It lands in a block. Once it's recorded, it's done and visible on an explorer.

What a signature is

A signature is the proof that the owner of an address approved the transaction. It's made with the private key, but it doesn't reveal the key. Some transactions need one signature, some need more, for example when two accounts both have to approve.

The fee

Every Solana transaction pays a fee in SOL:

• The base fee is 5,000 lamports per signature. A lamport is the smallest piece of a SOL: one SOL is a billion lamports, so 5,000 lamports is 0.000005 SOL.
• A priority fee is optional. It can be added to push a transaction ahead when the network is busy.

The fee comes out of the wallet paying for the transaction, and you need SOL for it even when you're sending something else.

A worked example: counting the fee

• A transaction with one signature and no priority fee: 5,000 lamports, or 0.000005 SOL.
• A transaction with two signatures: 2 × 5,000 = 10,000 lamports, or 0.00001 SOL.
• The same two-signature transaction with a priority fee added: 10,000 lamports plus whatever priority fee was set.

We won't put a dollar figure on any of that, because SOL's price moves.

Read before you approve

Approving is the only moment you control. After that, Solana transactions can't be reversed. So before you tap approve:

1. Check where it's going. Compare the address at both ends with the one you meant.
2. Check what's moving. The token and the amount should match what you expected.
3. Check who's asking. Is this the app you opened yourself, on a domain you typed?
4. Stop if anything's off. Closing the window costs nothing. A wrong approval can cost everything that was in the wallet.

Failed transactions

Sometimes a transaction fails, for example because something changed between building it and sending it. An explorer shows whether a transaction succeeded or failed. A failed one didn't move what it was meant to move.

Where Skate Labs fits

None of this is needed to play Global SKATE. The game doesn't use a wallet, and the app never creates one. If you set up the optional wallet on the Dash, setup doesn't buy, mint or transfer anything, and future transactions need your approval. Wallet safety basics for skaters covers the habits that keep that approval step safe.

Who pays the fee

Every Solana transaction has a fee payer: the account whose SOL covers the fee. Usually that's you, the person sending. Some apps pay the fee for their users instead, which is why you can sometimes approve something without holding SOL. Either way, the fee is paid in SOL by somebody, and your wallet's approval screen tells you who.

Reading a transaction on an explorer

Open any transaction on an explorer and you'll usually see:

• Signature: the transaction's ID, a long string you can share to point someone at it.
• Status: success or failure.
• Fee: what was paid, in SOL.
• What changed: which balances went up or down, and for which addresses.

If you ever need help with a transaction, the signature is what to share. It's public. Your keys and recovery phrase never are.

Why it's fast

Solana blocks come quickly, so most transactions are recorded within seconds. "Recorded" means it's in the shared record, visible to everyone, and final.

Common mistakes

• Approving fast because the app looks familiar. Fake sites copy real ones exactly.
• Sending a token with no SOL for the fee. The transaction can't go through without it.
• Expecting to cancel after approving. Once it's recorded, it's final.
• Checking only part of an address. Check the start and the end.

FAQ

Do I pay a fee to look at my address on an explorer?

No. Reading the chain is free. Fees are for transactions that change it.

Why is the fee per signature?

The base fee is set per signature, so a transaction with more signatures pays more.

Can I get a fee back if I sent to the wrong address?

No. The fee pays for the network's work, and the transaction itself can't be reversed.

Does Global SKATE charge transaction fees?

No. The game is free and doesn't use a wallet.

Next: What is an NFT? A one-off deck explanation

Join the testers at skatelabs.app/testers and play a Game of SKATE with your friends. Global SKATE is free and in testing on iPhone and Android.