Ethereum · ERC20
Ethereum is where the most assets live, and where moving them costs the most. Several of them settle here and nowhere else in this wallet, which is the reason to care what a transfer on it costs. The trade is that every transfer competes for the same block space, so the fee is not a constant.
Why the fee moves
Ethereum prices each transfer against demand for the next block. A quiet hour and a busy one can differ by an order of magnitude, which is why a fixed fee schedule for Ethereum would be a lie. The quote you get is priced when you ask for it, and it is what you pay.
The assets that only live here
DAI and SHIB have no other home in this wallet. If you hold either, Ethereum is where they are, and moving them means moving them within Ethereum rather than choosing a cheaper chain.
ERC20 is the name everything else copied
BEP20, TRC20 and the rest are named after this standard, which is why an address on any EVM chain looks identical. That resemblance is also the most common way people lose money: the same 0x address exists on every EVM chain, and sending to the right address on the wrong chain is a real mistake with no undo. The wallet pins the chain to the asset you picked.
Related
Questions
Do I need ETH to send USDT on Ethereum?
No. The gas is paid out of the operation, in the token you are sending.
Why is Ethereum more expensive than the other chains?
Because its block space is the most contested. The wallet quotes the real cost at the moment you ask rather than averaging it.
My 0x address works on several chains — does that mean the funds do?
No. The address format is shared across EVM chains; the balances are not. Funds sent on the wrong chain sit at that address on that chain.