What is the role of gas in Ethereum transactions?

Gas in Ethereum refers to the computational effort required to execute operations like transactions or smart contract executions on the Ethereum network. Each action on the Ethereum blockchain requires a certain amount of gas, which is paid in Ether (ETH). Gas fees are paid to miners (in proof-of-work) or validators (in proof-of-stake) to compensate for the computational resources used to process and validate the transactions. The gas price fluctuates depending on network congestion, with higher demand leading to higher fees. Gas is essential for preventing spam and abuse of the network, as it requires a monetary cost for every operation.