# I just paid $2,699.78 to put my NFT onchain

*Here's how YOU could pay TWICE less ! 🤔*

By [Nahiko's Bookmarks](https://paragraph.com/@nahiko) · 2024-11-03

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Hi Pals !

We finally did it ! Zima was launched a few days ago,

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/bcf704624b3e908cb70d32655c37ccd8.png)

Enjoying a sip of Lemonade after a difficult few weeks !

If you have missed it, you can check it out here (it's still minting) at [highlight.xyz/zima](https://highlight.xyz/zima)

Today I show you **Why I paid almost $3,000 to put Zima onchain, and how YOU can pay twice less !**

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What I did (AKA "What not to do")
---------------------------------

Zima NFTs are a combination of:

*   code poems (text)
    
*   talismans (images, the heaviest files)
    

So I focused on reducing image size the most 👾

(you can try compressing your image using the [squoosh.app](https://squoosh.app) made by Google)

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/4feefe029b9a8e85e6f19860ebb5d6b1.png)

AVIF is the best extension to get the smallest file possible

Remember, I even used AI ✨ to make the images smaller in [one of my previous articles](https://paragraph.xyz/@nahiko/bookmarked-28) !

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/c82a509c1deca9ae072f2e606fd130ce.png)

I'm quite proud of this article !

But I hit a wall, **I had 83 files to upload**,

**At that scale even $20/image is expensive** ( 83 x $20 = $1,660 already !).

Also, at some point you can't compress images any further, it starts losing meaning. 😶‍🌫

...

But wait, let's step back...

WHY do I have to pay $20 again ?

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/d34980832cf69d836d30ad1b7b06e6af.gif)

WTF is Gas ?
------------

Gas on Ethereum is like Gas for your car (Surprise, Surprise ! 🤣)

Travel **from Vegas to LA** ? you'll need **40 Liters**.

At **3$/Liter** that's **$130** for the trip !

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/3fef34a26d7ac83355032c335b67538c.png)

I'm quite proud of this analogy, hope it works well !

Ethereum transactions are the same...

but there's only one Gas station,

and you don't pay with dollars, you pay with **ETH** !

_(specifically gwei, where 1 gwei = 0.000000001 ETH)_

Like in real life, **the price of gas is not constant (FAR from it) !**

This year, you can see gas prices fluctuated A LOT, in fact in March it spiked at almost **100 gwei (10 TIMES more than today)**

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/fb40e2796f8ea0ba0490c916ff8371fa.png)

This is why onchain art is so cheap right now !

Even worse,

this week if you had transacted on **Wednesday** you would have paid **6 TIMES MORE** than on **Sunday** ! 😱

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/f3c07201b32e4438de30ad42987c0567.png)

For a 5$ transaction ? Sure, why not, but for a $2,700 one ? **OUCH**

See, I deployed at 11 Gwei (**I completely forgot that gas is cheaper on weekends!**)

Don't make this mistake, you should:

*   Plan in Advance: Estimate the overall cost of your deployment
    
*   Use a script: **Set a target gas price**, for ex. 3 gwei → And **send the transaction only when gas prices fall below it** 😃
    

I could have saved THOUSANDS of dollars ! 🥶

* * *

If you enjoyed this,

Please go check out the [Zima mint page](https://highlight.xyz/zima)

And share the work on Twitter !

See you next week ! ✌

Nahiko

* * *

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*Originally published on [Nahiko's Bookmarks](https://paragraph.com/@nahiko/bookmarked-33)*