Gwei

What Is a Gwei?

Gwei is a unit of measurement in the Ethereum network’s cryptocurrency, Ether (ETH). It is equivalent to 1,000,000,000 wei, which is the smallest base unit of Ether. In terms of ETH, one gwei is equal to 0.000000001 or 10-9 ETH. On the other hand, 1 ETH represents 1 billion gwei!

Gwei is particularly useful when calculating gas fees, which are payments made to miners for processing transactions. It provides a convenient way to determine the fees. Additionally, Gwei is sometimes referred to as “shannon,” in honor of Claude Shannon, a renowned mathematician and cryptographer known as “the father of information theory.”

Ether (ETH) has several other base units, each named after significant individuals who have contributed to the project in some way or another.

Here are a few examples:

1 wei is named after Wei Dai, a prominent figure in the crypto movement.

1 kwei, also known as babbage, is equal to 10’3 wei and is named after Charles Babbage.

1 mwei, also known as lovelace, is equal to 10’6 wei and is named after Ada Lovelace.

1 twei, also known as szabo, is equal to 10’12 wei and is named after Nick Szabo.

1 pwei, also known as finney, is equal to 10’15 wei and is named after Hal Finney.