Executive Summary

In accordance with the network optimization plan, this FIP suggests the next parameter adjustment for the Fuse network. The new proposal would increase the gas price from 1 gwei to 10 gwei.

Fuse currently charges 1 gwei for transactions. This is not a long-term solution because it is vulnerable to chain spam attacks, which can lead to chain consensus drops or chain unusability.

Abstract

This FIP proposes to increase the gas price limit to 10 gwei. The current gas price per transaction is 1 gwei.

Motivation

The amount of transactions on the Fuse Network has been gradually increasing over the last few months. To prepare for increased Fuse demand, the Fuse Network is being methodologically scaled to meet future growth expectations in preparation of the expanding Fuse Ecosystem and Fuse Network, which is expected to continue throughout the year.

Optimizing the network will lead to an increase in throughput, which can safely handle high peak loads and reduce potential spam attacks. This recent update will further enhance the overall user experience for all users.

As the ecosystem expands, we're dedicated to delivering the scaling phase of the Fuse roadmap through 2022, enhancing speed and expanding network capacity while maintaining security and a consistent commitment to safeguard Fuse's vision.

Spam

One of the most common ways that spam works is by flooding the target system with numerous requests, although the requests themselves are valid and legitimate. Spam on the blockchain is the act of sending a large number of small transactions at the same time. The transactions sent by the adversaries are legitimate, but each one consists of transferring the smallest amount of money allowed in the network. The minimal quantity of Fuse token that can be sent to the Fuse network in a single transaction is the dust limit for the Fuse chain.

Specification

• This FIP will not necessitate a fork or contract modifications, but rather a simple update to the client software used by validators.
• The GASPRICE parameter will be adjusted to 10 gwei.

Deployment

The proposal will be included in the subsequent Fuse node software version release if it is approved by the validators.

Rationale

• The current 1 gwei gas fee on Fuse is not a long-term solution because it is vulnerable to chain spam attacks, which can lead to stuck transactions and chain consensus drops or chain unusability.
• Our internal stress test simulations on Sparknet validates our observations that with the current 1 gwei gas fees we are highly exposed to such spam attacks; we need to increase the gas fees to mitigate risks of such spam attacks.
• This FIP will increase the gas fee to 10 gwei.

Gas Fees Comparison

Chain	Standard	Fast	Rapid
Fuse	1 gwei	1 gwei	1 gwei
Polygon	40 gwei	52 gwei	52 gwei
Ethereum	8 gwei	8 gwei	11 gwei
BSC	7 gwei	7 gwei	7 gwei
Avalanche	27 gwei	28 gwei	29 gwei

Objections to the proposal & Things to Consider

• In practice, increasing gas fees to 10 gwei may not 100% mitigate spam attacks if the attacker is well funded and if there exists an economic viability to architect such spam attacks.
• Some validators or developers or users on the Fuse chain, may have hardcoded the gas fees to 1 gwei. In such scenarios, they may experience stuck transactions.
• To ensure that transactions are never stuck the Fuse owned validators will continue to accept transactions below 10 gwei. This will result in any transactions below the new minimum to take upwards of NUM_VALIDATORS * 5 seconds.

How to vote

This proposal will be voted on exclusively by validator operators via snapshot.

To vote, simply connect your validator account wallet after the official start date and time. Then choose "for", "against" or "abstain". Then Submit your response.

Additional Remarks

The proposals to increase Fuse’s block size (FIP-12) and the gas fees increase (FIP-13) are part of its efforts to optimize the Fuse network. With a rapidly growing number of projects launching on the Fuse Network, the protocol has to process more transactions, mitigate any spam attacks and this highlights the need to scale up the blockchain’s overall capability.

Further References

Github URL: https://github.com/fuseio/FIPs/blob/master/FIPS/fip-13.md Fuse Forums: https://forum.fuse.io/t/fip13-gas-price-increase/442 Older discussion: https://forum.fuse.io/t/fee-increase-100x-proposal/67/7 Snapshot Guide URL: https://developers.fuse.io/fuse-dev-docs/network/network-upgrades/voting-with-snapshot/snapshot-decentralized-voting-system-at-fuse