Ethereum Co-Founder Suggests Concept for On-Chain Gas Futures

Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, has proposed the concept of an onchain futures market for gas, which could provide users with more reliable transaction fee insights as the network sees increased usage.

In a Saturday post on X, Buterin suggested that there is a need for a “good trustless onchain gas futures market,” especially as users express concerns regarding the reliability of low gas fees from existing price reduction strategies in Ethereum’s roadmap.

He indicated that one approach to mitigate this uncertainty would be to allow users to effectively secure prices for specific future dates, highlighting a possible market for Ethereum Base fees — a key component in determining overall gas fees.

How an Ethereum gas futures market would work

In a conventional futures market, contracts are made to buy or sell commodities, such as oil, at predetermined prices for future delivery, enabling investors to make projections on price movements and producers to protect against future risks.

In the context of Ethereum, the futures market would mirror this concept, presenting gas fees at fixed rates for future periods, allowing network users to potentially save on future price surges should they arise.

Thus, a well-defined and trustworthy futures market would serve as a crucial reference point for the ecosystem, aiding in planning, speculation, or development.

“An onchain gas futures market would help address this: it would provide a clear indication of market expectations for future gas fees, allowing users to hedge against potential increases by effectively prepaying for a specific amount of gas within a designated timeframe,” he remarked.

This type of functional prediction market would offer valuable services to high-volume network users, including traders, builders, applications, and institutions that need predictable operational costs.