ShapeShift takes aim at gas fees with new FOX token functionality

FOX holders will be able to offset gas fees proportionally to their token holdings.

In a blog post today, noncustodial wallet and decentralized exchange aggregator ShapeShift announced expanded functionality for its FOX rewards token designed to mitigate gas fees — or, as the project put it, turn the token into “the Gas-Guzzling Philanthropist of the DeFi Forest.”

“FOX Tokens now have the added superpower of helping you pay for gas when you trade on ShapeShift,” reads the blog. “ShapeShift will now help cover your gas costs on trades by reimbursing you with FOX.”

Users will be able to offset certain portions of their fees dependent on the amount of FOX that they hold, and each trade placed using the service rewards traders with FOX, creating what the platform calls a “beautiful cycle.”

Willy Ogorzaly, a product manager for ShapeShift, told Cointelegraph that the gas mitigation feature was one of the most widely requested from users.

“Every day we hear from users that the gas fees required to complete a trade are insane. While ShapeShift can’t solve the underlying problem, we figured we could at least make it hurt less.”

Ogorzaly noted that the fee rebates apply to “any pair and any blockchain,” including both Ethereum and Bitcoin transactions. Gas fees have been a particular hot topic of late, as the EIP-1559 fee structure overhaul draws closer and incidents like yesterday’s volatility can lead to crippling gas spikes, and other services such as Dhedge offer similar programs.

The gas fee program is just one of an expanding set of features and services from the team. Earlier in the year, Shapeshift announced a move to sunset KYC requirements and aggregate over a dozen decentralized exchanges, and later an integration with THORChain allowed for noncustodial, native Bitcoin trades.

Ogozy told Cointelegraph that the platform will continue to expand its suite of services.

“ShapeShift was founded on a vision of supporting self-sovereign finance from its inception, while minimizing friction and costs to the user,” he said.

“As we’ve moved to a decentralized trading model, we are continuing to look for ways to stay true to that vision.”