Why can an Ethereum transaction fail and still charge a fee?

Validators still perform work to process a reverted transaction. Gas can be consumed even if the intended smart-contract operation fails.

The answer

Validators still perform work to process a reverted transaction. Gas can be consumed even if the intended smart-contract operation fails.

What to do next

Read the failed transaction status and error, confirm sufficient gas and correct network, and avoid repeating an expensive failed call without understanding why.

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Ledger hardware wallet

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Frequently asked questions

Does a reverted token swap still exchange the tokens?

Normally not; state changes revert, but the gas consumed is charged.

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