MetaMask wallet adds Gas Station feature to pay fees with tokens

MetaMask, one of the most widely used wallets for Web3, will add a token-based feature to pay for gas. The wallet’s Gas Station will allow users to transact even when not holding native utility tokens like Ethereum (ETH). 

MetaMask added a new user-friendly feature for token and stablecoin swaps. The wallet’s Gas Station will allow users to pay fees in any token, completing transactions even when they don’t own gas utility tokens like Ethereum (ETH). MetaMask announced the new feature through a post on X. 

No ETH for gas? No problem. ⛽️

You can now pay for gas with the token you're swapping. pic.twitter.com/rBNW3ymL65

— MetaMask.eth 🦊🫰 (@MetaMask) February 4, 2025

When using MetaMask Swap, traders can pick one of the pre-approved tokens to cover gas costs. The feature will start with a small selection of supported tokens. Those include USDT, USDC, DAI, ETH, WETH, WBTC, wstETH, and WSOL. More tokens will be added in the future, though for now, the assets are only available for the Ethereum ecosystem. 

MetaMask Swap is a fast, but relatively expensive routing service, offering DEX routing directly from the wallet. For some users, requiring additional ETH for transactions may be a barrier to entry, as usage has shifted to stablecoins. 

The most active chains on MetaMask beyond Ethereum include BNB Smart Chain and Polygon. The wallet is most often used to access Uniswap, SushiSwap, and PancakeSwap, with around 24% of traffic coming to smaller DEX.

MetaMask Swap mostly carries Ethereum activity

The MetaMask Swap service has already carried over $36B in cumulative volume, with around $12M in weekly activity. Ethereum-based activity makes up more than 82% of swaps. 

Swap usage was the most active in May 2024, surpassing $100M weekly. The relatively expensive swap service had higher activity, with expectations for an eventual airdrop. It produced over $100K in weekly fees in the past few months, with an absolute record of $6.44M in 2021. The service is used by 8.98M unique users. 

The MetaMask swap activity is also skewed toward Ethereum whales, making up over 35% of traffic. However, small-scale users on BNB Smart Chain make up over 44% of active addresses. The chain relies on small-scale swaps and lower-value tokens, still requiring BNB ownership to pay for transactions.

Direct MetaMask in-wallet swaps are still relatively rarely used due to the unpredictable pricing for some exchanges. The wallet has been used as a means for fast swaps in the case of Ethereum token exploits.

MetaMask ensures swaps will not fall through

The Gas Station will be tied to the Swaps feature, making sure all transactions go through. MetaMask will not be tied to any specific liquidity pool, and will still receive comparative prices across available DEX. The gas fee and final price for the user will be quoted through the wallet. The Swaps feature will compare data from DEX, market makers and other aggregators to come up with the most competitive network fees. 

Regular transfers to other wallets may still require a regular gas fee. However, swaps remain extremely important due to their timely nature, and MetaMask aims to make sure swaps do not fall through. With the highly volatile prices of tokens, a failed swap may have immediate results on a user’s portfolio.

Ethereum is still key for some trading activities, especially for stablecoins and wrapped ETH. In the past day, gas fees fell again as Web3 activity slowed down. 

DEX swaps are back down to $1.11, a relatively low price. Complex routing during active token trading periods has reached levels above $25, making users shift to L2 or Solana. 

The recent period of low gas fees followed a market dip for ETH, as the token is now making a slow recovery above $2,800. Additionally, Ethereum-based meme token trading may be harder for regular users, who have switched to Solana and its easier routing.

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