Plain-English definition
Every action on a chain costs gas, a fee paid to the network for the computation and storage it performs. When the chain is busy, gas rises as users bid for limited block space.
Gas is the metering of a shared computer. High gas is congestion; it is also, read another way, demand.
Why it matters
Gas matters because crypto markets can look precise while still being shallow, crowded, or poorly sourced. A useful read is not just the number. It is the number, the size behind it, the context around it, and the part it cannot explain.
Simple example
A simple Gas example is a reader comparing two venues with the same headline price but different depth. The deeper venue can absorb more capital before the trade, peg, or yield reading starts to move against the user.
How Bathymark uses this term
Bathymark uses Gas to translate open market data into live liquidity readings. When the term touches a live page, the reading links back to the relevant chain, protocol, stablecoin, DEX, perps, or Signal so the source remains checkable.
Common mistake
The common mistake is treating Gas as a complete signal by itself. Bathymark treats it as one instrument: useful when read beside liquidity, source, size, and what the number cannot prove.