What are sponsored transactions?

Sui’s blockchain distinguishes itself with its low, stable, and predictable gas fees, which are key factors in building a reliable L1. A reliable blockchain attracts companies and developers, paving the way for more users and broader adoption.

Even with these strengths, a major obstacle to mass adoption persists: the necessity of paying gas fees. To address this challenge and streamline the user experience, Sui introduces sponsored transactions, a solution that eliminates the need for users to worry about gas fees altogether.

What are gas fees and why are they a problem?

Gas fees are the small amounts of cryptocurrency required to execute transactions on a blockchain network. While essential for network operations, these fees present a significant barrier to mass adoption.

Even for those well-versed in blockchain, paying gas fees is at a minimum an annoyance and at its worst a blocker to making a transaction. For newcomers, it presents an initial learning curve that discourages further exploration in the blockchain space.

After overcoming this learning curve, accessibility issues can persist. In some countries, restrictions on cryptocurrency exchanges make it difficult, if not impossible, to acquire the necessary tokens. This limitation stifles broader adoption by preventing potential users from even getting started.

Beyond these challenges, the user experience suffers. Imagine playing a web3 game, making a move, and then pausing to sign and approve a gas fee payment. It’s a frustrating experience that is far away from the seamless interactions users are accustomed to in web2.

Even worse, users need to constantly manage their funds to ensure they have enough to cover transactions. If their balance falls short, they’re forced to stop interacting with the dApp and reload their wallet.

All these obstacles increase the likelihood of users dropping off, preventing the mass adoption of the web3 space.

How sponsored transactions solve this problem?

Sponsored transactions on Sui directly address these issues by allowing developers to sponsor their users' transactions, resulting in a much smoother and more intuitive user experience.

By sponsoring user transactions:

• the initial learning curve is removed, making it easier for new users to get started;

• users no longer need to deal with the hassle of purchasing specific cryptocurrencies; and

• the user experience becomes much smoother, aligning with the simplicity and ease that's expected.

Let’s illustrate this with a practical example. Imagine you want to upload a file on Walrus through Tusky...

Without sponsored transactions

If Tusky didn’t sponsor transactions, here’s what you’d have to go through.

1. Create a Tusky account.

2. Sign up on a centralized exchange, complete KYC, and wait for approval.

3. Deposit money into the exchange.

4. Purchase $SUI.

5. Transfer the $SUI to your wallet, hoping everything goes smoothly.

6. Finally, you can create a vault and upload your file.

With Sponsored Transactions

Thanks to Tusky’s use of sponsored transactions, the process is streamlined to the following two steps.

1. Create a Tusky account.

2. Start uploading.

Enabling mass adoption

If web3 businesses can sponsor transactions, it will encourage more users to try out their products. For users, it saves them the hassle of navigating all the complicated steps just to get started. With sponsored transactions, users can sign up and immediately begin using the dApp, enjoying an effortless and intuitive experience.

This kind of simplification removes the barriers to entry that currently hinder mass adoption. Gas payments are handled behind the scenes while users receive the full blockchain experience.