Two months ago, Trust Wallet, one of the most widely used self-custody wallets in crypto, rolled out a gas sponsorship feature. It lets people trade tokens on a network without needing to own that network’s fuel currency first. For example, you can swap tokens without any ETH in your wallet, which is meant to make it much easier for anyone to start using decentralized apps and services.
Normally, to do anything on a blockchain (like swap tokens), you need to pay a small fee using that specific network’s own cryptocurrency. This fee, called “gas,” goes to the computers that process and secure your transaction.
For approved swaps, the app will automatically pay the gas fee for you, as long as you follow some rules:
- You can do this up to four times a day
- It works on Ethereum, BNB Chain, and Solana
- Your swap must meet a minimum dollar value, which is different for each network (about $50 on Ethereum)
But What’s the Hidden Cost?
The wallet pays the user’s transaction fee, meaning Trust Wallet simply picks up the tab for this using a special fund, likely paid for by business partners, sponsors, or its own reserves.
This approach naturally leads people to wonder if it can last forever and who will really end up paying for it in the long run.
Even when the transaction fee is free, swapping tokens isn’t without a charge. The trade itself might suffer from price slippage or an unfavorable rate from the trading platform, which is different from the gas fee. Trust Wallet’s app shows the covered network fee, but users still pay whatever final price the decentralized exchange gives them for their trade.
Last year’s upgrades to the Ethereum network (such as EIP-7702) let users pay their transaction fees with different tokens, not just ETH. Numerous wallets, including Trust Wallet, are starting to support such payments.
However, this change also raises big questions about how the system’s rules and economics will work when the main currency isn’t always used to pay for operations.
Also, some users might think “no native tokens needed” means a swap is completely free, though that is not the case. The sponsorship just means you don’t have to keep a little bit of, say, ETH in your wallet to pay for it yourself.
To keep users’ trust, it will be very important for the wallet to be open about who is paying these fees and if they can keep paying them.
Related: Trust Wallet Confirms Extension v2.68 Security Issue After Wallet Drains
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