Ethereum EIP-2780 details transaction pricing based on resources used

A proposal to break down a flat base cost

EIP-2780 reaches the Last Call deadline listed in its official document on November 1, 2026. Created on July 11, 2020, this Ethereum proposal still shows Last Call when checked. Its current version describes pricing based on resources used by each transaction shape. This milestone does not mean new rules have been activated or that all transfers would automatically become cheaper.

The text conceptually replaces a uniform 21,000-gas base with components for sender processing, recipient access, value transfer, and possible durable account creation. It also separates costs computable without reading network state from charges depending on account conditions. The aim is pricing that better matches work performed while allowing initial transaction validity to be decided without executing its operations.

A simple transfer would retain its 21,000 gas

Under the proposed parameters, base sender processing costs 12,000 gas. Accessing a distinct recipient adds 3,000, and transferring value adds 6,000. A plain ETH transfer to an existing ordinary account therefore still totals 21,000 gas. A zero-value transaction to another ordinary account would have a 15,000-gas base. These examples exclude additional calldata, access-list, and contract-execution charges.

Creating an account adds another resource: new data nodes must retain. The document refers to EIP-8037’s state-gas model, with an example charge of 183,600 gas for a new account under the presented parameters. That amount is additional to the relevant execution work, not the price of any arbitrary transfer. Values depend on related proposals and describe a specification under review rather than an active fee schedule.

Separate initial validity from later charges

Intrinsic costs can be determined from transaction fields. Charges requiring state information, such as actual account creation or delegation resolution, would be applied in a phase before the first contract-execution frame. A transaction that passes its intrinsic check but then runs out of gas would remain included: consumed gas would be paid and the affected changes reverted. The proposal thus distinguishes execution failure from invalidity.

Wallets, RPC services, and estimators would need updates because assuming a single flat base would no longer suffice. The text states that its changes are incompatible with earlier rules and require a network upgrade. Calldata and access-list metering remain, while the base used by some calculations is adjusted. The review concerns more accurate cost allocation, not universal savings or a rollout completed on November 1.