Getting a crypto refund can be very expensive

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Longtime Slashdot reader smooth wombat writes: Recently, Slashdot published an article about a group trying to buy one of the few copies of the U.S. Constitution in the public domain. The idea was to use people’s joint donations through Ethereum to get the winning bid. Unfortunately, Citadel CEO Ken Griffin outbid the group and took possession of the copy.

Now the group, ConsitutionDAO, is repaying the donations, reports the BBC, and people who get their money back find it can be quite expensive … BBC writes: This is because the Ethereum network is recording its blockchain transactions, the same basic technological idea that powers other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. And like Bitcoin mining, it requires computing power to function. “Gas” is the royalty paid to those who manage computer systems to facilitate transactions. And it changes its price according to supply and demand. This means that sometimes it can be much more expensive to complete any type of transaction, depending on the occupancy of the Ethereum network. And the network has recently seen high utilization – and high gas prices.

On its official Discord – the chat app that lets anyone create rooms and chat channels for enthusiasts on almost any topic – the group said it had 17,437 donors with a median donation of 206, $ 26. High gasoline costs mean that “small” donations could be severely affected by transaction costs.

One Discord user said that in order to get a refund of $ 400 he would have to pay $ 168 in gasoline. Others complained that the fees were higher than the relatively small amount of their reimbursement.

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