How To Fix Cannot Estimate Gas Fees in PancakeSwap Error

PancakeSwap is a popular decentralized exchange. One of its primary draws is that it’s a cheaper alternative to Ethereum-based platforms. With millions of daily transactions taking place on the exchange, it’s understandable if there’s a glitch now and then. The “cannot estimate gas fees” error is one of the more common issues that PancakeSwap users face. It can result from several factors, and often means your transaction won’t be processed. In this article, we’ll look at what causes this error and how you can rectify it.

What Causes the PancakeSwap Cannot Estimate Gas Fees Error?

Every so often, you might run into problems when trying to swap tokens on PancakeSwap. For example, you might encounter the “cannot estimate gas fees” error. Not to worry. There are a few things you can do to fix this issue. Let’s go through them here.

Problem: Low Slippage Tolerance

Slippage is the difference between the expected and the actual price of a trade. It’s a trade factor, but slippage occurs more frequently with cryptocurrency. This is mainly because the tokens themselves are volatile in price and are more prone to liquidity issues. A low slippage tolerance may prevent your transaction from going through, resulting in the “cannot estimate gas fees” message.

Solution: Raise the Slippage Tolerance

Increasing the slippage tolerance of your transaction could fix the problem. However, you should bear in mind that you might not get an optimal price for your token. Here’s how to change the slippage tolerance.

1. Go to PancakeSwap and select the tokens you would like to swap by putting them in the “To” and “From” fields.
   
2. Click on the Settings icon and locate the “Slippage Tolerance” section.
   
3. Enter “12” into the slot and exit Settings.
   

The slippage tolerance has now been adjusted and your transaction should go through.

A slippage tolerance of 12% is often used because that seems to be the sweet spot. It’s high enough for trades to succeed, but low enough to get a good price for your tokens.

Problem: Too Many Decimal Places

If the token amount contains too many decimal places, PancakeSwap might have a problem executing the transaction. For instance, if the value of your coin is 651.83496372, you are likely to get a “cannot estimate gas fees” alert.

Solution: Reduce Decimal Digits

To enable the transaction to go through, you will have to decrease the number of decimal numbers used. Check out how to do that.

1. Launch PancakeSwap and navigate to the Swap section.
   
2. Enter the token you would like to purchase in the “To” column.
   
3. Enter the token you would like to swap it with in the “From” column.
   
4. Change the last digits of the token in the “From” column to zeros.
   

This should now resolve the problem and your transaction can progress.

You will need to change the token amount in the “From” column because the one in the “To” column can’t be approximated. You can’t estimate the “To” field if you are buying a token.

Problem: Too Many Zeros

PancakeSwap seems to have challenges calculating transactions where token amounts have too many zeros. For instance, if you’re trying to swap coins valued at 200,000, you might get a “cannot estimate gas fees” message.

Solution: Change the Last Digits From Zero

If your transaction isn’t going through because your coin amount has too many zeros, try changing the last digits as described below.

1. Launch PancakeSwap and head to the Swap section.
   
2. In the “To” slot, enter the token you would like to buy.
   
3. Enter the token you are looking to swap in the “From” slot.
   
4. Alter the last digits in the “From” section to numbers other than zero.
   

The problem should now be rectified and the transaction should be completed without prompting an error message.

Problem: Transaction Is Too Slow

You might be getting a “cannot estimate gas fees” error message because the transaction speed is too slow. PancakeSwap is built on the Binance Smart Chain, and for trades to be processed, they have to be validated on the blockchain. If your swap is set to a slower speed, it might get stuck in the back of the line, passed over for more attractive trades. This is because a faster transaction speed will draw higher network fees.

Solution: Increase the Transaction Speed

PancakeSwap has three different transaction speeds. There’s standard, fast, and instant. A quicker transaction speed will be more attractive to validators as it has higher network fees. Here’s how to increase the speed of your swap.

1. Launch PancakeSwap and tap the Settings icon.
   
2. Click “Fast” or “Instant” to complete the process.
   

Your transaction should be faster now and the problem rectified.

Getting to the Bottom of the Problem

PancakeSwap is a fantastic platform for trading cryptocurrency. However, the exchange isn’t without its faults. You might encounter a “cannot estimate gas fees” error that will prevent you from moving ahead with a trade. The guide above should help you identify and rectify the problem if this occurs.

Have you encountered a “cannot estimate gas fees” error on PancakeSwap? What did you do to fix the problem? Let us know in the comments section below.