Other Chain·SKALE Nebula Gaming Hub · SKALE Europa Hub · SKALE Calypso Hub · SKALE Titan Hub · SKALE appchains · Ethereum
SKALE
Multichain network of EVM-compatible appchains and shared 'hub' chains (Europa for DeFi, Calypso for NFTs/consumer, Nebula for gaming, Titan for AI/DAOs). SKALE chains charge zero gas to end users — fees are abstracted via sFUEL (a non-tradeable gas token issued by faucets/distributors) — making it a popular L2/L3 choice for free-to-play Web3 games and NFT mints.
- 01zero-gas-for-players Web3 games (Nebula Hub)
- 02free-mint NFT drops (Calypso Hub)
- 03studio-owned appchains with EVM tooling
- 04high-throughput in-game txs with Solidity contracts
- 05DeFi/RWA dApps wanting zero player gas (Europa Hub)
- pnpm add viem wagmi @skalenetwork/ima-js
| Variable | Scope | Description |
|---|---|---|
| NEXT_PUBLIC_SKALE_NEBULA_RPC_URL | Client | SKALE Nebula Hub RPC URL (e.g. https://mainnet.skalenodes.com/v1/green-giddy-denebola). |
| SKALE_SFUEL_DISTRIBUTOR_KEY | Server | Server-side key for an sFUEL distributor wallet that drips gas to new players. |
Configure viem with the target SKALE chain (e.g. Nebula Gaming Hub, chainId 1482601649) and standard EVM RPC — Solidity contracts deploy unchanged with Foundry/Hardhat. Because SKALE chains have zero base gas price, players still need a tiny sFUEL balance to submit txs; integrate the SKALE sFUEL Station (`https://sfuel.skale.network`) or run your own distributor that calls `eth_sendTransaction` to drip 0.000001 sFUEL to new wallets on first interaction. Bridge ETH and ERC-20s in/out of SKALE via the Interchain Messaging Agent (`@skalenetwork/ima-js`) which connects each SKALE chain to Ethereum L1. ChainSafe's `web3.unity` SDK supports SKALE Nebula natively for Unity games.
- ⚑Zero gas only means zero protocol fee — players still need a non-zero sFUEL balance to send any tx, and sFUEL is non-tradeable; an empty sFUEL wallet silently rejects txs with cryptic 'insufficient funds' errors. Always integrate an sFUEL distributor on first login.
- ⚑SKALE chains are EVM-compatible but each runs as a separate validator subset — chainIds, RPCs, and bridge endpoints differ per hub/appchain. There is no single 'SKALE mainnet'; use the official portal (portal.skale.space/chains) to resolve chains.
- ⚑Bridging assets between SKALE and Ethereum L1 uses the IMA bridge with a multi-step deposit/withdraw flow (approve -> deposit on L1 -> claim on SKALE, and reverse) — withdrawals can take 30+ minutes and require a transaction on each side.
- ⚑Each SKALE chain has its own file storage and on-chain RNG features that are non-standard EVM precompiles — code that uses them is not portable to other EVM chains.
- ⚑Gas-token quirk: sFUEL has no fiat value and cannot be acquired on exchanges; if your distributor wallet runs dry the entire game halts for new players. Monitor distributor balance and refill from the team's reserve.
- ⚑Peer-to-peer NFT transfers on Calypso are free for sender, but secondary marketplaces that charge fees in ETH/USDC require the buyer to bridge stablecoins in first — surface that bridge step in onboarding.