fix: Metamask keeps failing sending transactions (#968)

* Problem: Metamask keeps failing sending transactions

Closes: #967
Solution:
- add 1/8 buffer on top of base fee for default gas price

* changelog

* fix typo

Co-authored-by: Freddy Caceres <freddy.caceres@crypto.com>
Co-authored-by: Federico Kunze Küllmer <31522760+fedekunze@users.noreply.github.com>

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -42,6 +42,10 @@ Ref: https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/
 
 * (evm) [\#529](https://github.com/tharsis/ethermint/issues/529) support return value on trace tx response.
 
+## Improvements
+
+- (rpc) [#968](https://github.com/tharsis/ethermint/pull/968) Add some buffer to returned gas price to provide better default UX for client.
+
 ## [v0.10.0] - 2022-02-26
 
 ### API Breaking

rpc/ethereum/backend/backend.go

@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ type Backend interface {
 	RPCTxFeeCap() float64         // RPCTxFeeCap is the global transaction fee(price * gaslimit) cap for send-transaction variants. The unit is ether.
 
 	RPCMinGasPrice() int64
-	SuggestGasTipCap() (*big.Int, error)
+	SuggestGasTipCap(baseFee *big.Int) (*big.Int, error)
 
 	// Blockchain API
 	BlockNumber() (hexutil.Uint64, error)
@@ -954,11 +954,36 @@ func (e *EVMBackend) ChainConfig() *params.ChainConfig {
 }
 
 // SuggestGasTipCap returns the suggested tip cap
-// always return zero since we don't support tx prioritization yet.
-func (e *EVMBackend) SuggestGasTipCap() (*big.Int, error) {
+// Although we don't support tx prioritization yet, but we return a positive value to help client to
+// mitigate the base fee changes.
+func (e *EVMBackend) SuggestGasTipCap(baseFee *big.Int) (*big.Int, error) {
+	if baseFee == nil {
+		// london hardfork not enabled or feemarket not enabeld
 		return big.NewInt(0), nil
 	}
 
+	params, err := e.queryClient.FeeMarket.Params(e.ctx, &feemarkettypes.QueryParamsRequest{})
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	// calculate the maximum base fee delta in current block, assuming all block gas limit is consumed
+	// ```
+	// GasTarget = GasLimit / ElasticityMultiplier
+	// Delta = BaseFee * (GasUsed - GasTarget) / GasTarget / Denominator
+	// ```
+	// The delta is at maximum when `GasUsed` is equal to `GasLimit`, which is:
+	// ```
+	// MaxDelta = BaseFee * (GasLimit - GasLimit / ElasticityMultiplier) / (GasLimit / ElasticityMultiplier) / Denominator
+	//          = BaseFee * (ElasticityMultiplier - 1) / Denominator
+	// ```
+	maxDelta := baseFee.Int64() * (int64(params.Params.ElasticityMultiplier) - 1) / int64(params.Params.BaseFeeChangeDenominator)
+	if maxDelta < 0 {
+		// impossible if the parameter validation passed.
+		maxDelta = 0
+	}
+	return big.NewInt(maxDelta), nil
+}
+
 // BaseFee returns the base fee tracked by the Fee Market module. If the base fee is not enabled,
 // it returns the initial base fee amount. Return nil if London is not activated.
 func (e *EVMBackend) BaseFee(height int64) (*big.Int, error) {

rpc/ethereum/backend/utils.go

@@ -31,19 +31,16 @@ func (e *EVMBackend) SetTxDefaults(args evmtypes.TransactionArgs) (evmtypes.Tran
 		return args, errors.New("latest header is nil")
 	}
 
-	cfg := e.ChainConfig()
-
 	// If user specifies both maxPriorityfee and maxFee, then we do not
 	// need to consult the chain for defaults. It's definitely a London tx.
 	if args.MaxPriorityFeePerGas == nil || args.MaxFeePerGas == nil {
 		// In this clause, user left some fields unspecified.
-		if cfg.IsLondon(head.Number) && args.GasPrice == nil {
+		if head.BaseFee != nil && args.GasPrice == nil {
 			if args.MaxPriorityFeePerGas == nil {
-				tip, err := e.SuggestGasTipCap()
+				tip, err := e.SuggestGasTipCap(head.BaseFee)
 				if err != nil {
 					return args, err
 				}
-
 				args.MaxPriorityFeePerGas = (*hexutil.Big)(tip)
 			}
 
@@ -65,12 +62,11 @@ func (e *EVMBackend) SetTxDefaults(args evmtypes.TransactionArgs) (evmtypes.Tran
 			}
 
 			if args.GasPrice == nil {
-				price, err := e.SuggestGasTipCap()
+				price, err := e.SuggestGasTipCap(head.BaseFee)
 				if err != nil {
 					return args, err
 				}
-
-				if cfg.IsLondon(head.Number) {
+				if head.BaseFee != nil {
 					// The legacy tx gas price suggestion should not add 2x base fee
 					// because all fees are consumed, so it would result in a spiral
 					// upwards.

rpc/ethereum/namespaces/eth/api.go

@@ -202,11 +202,10 @@ func (e *PublicAPI) GasPrice() (*hexutil.Big, error) {
 		err    error
 	)
 	if head := e.backend.CurrentHeader(); head.BaseFee != nil {
-		result, err = e.backend.SuggestGasTipCap()
+		result, err = e.backend.SuggestGasTipCap(head.BaseFee)
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}
-
 		result = result.Add(result, head.BaseFee)
 	} else {
 		result = big.NewInt(e.backend.RPCMinGasPrice())
@@ -218,11 +217,11 @@ func (e *PublicAPI) GasPrice() (*hexutil.Big, error) {
 // MaxPriorityFeePerGas returns a suggestion for a gas tip cap for dynamic fee transactions.
 func (e *PublicAPI) MaxPriorityFeePerGas() (*hexutil.Big, error) {
 	e.logger.Debug("eth_maxPriorityFeePerGas")
-	tipcap, err := e.backend.SuggestGasTipCap()
+	head := e.backend.CurrentHeader()
+	tipcap, err := e.backend.SuggestGasTipCap(head.BaseFee)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-
 	return (*hexutil.Big)(tipcap), nil
 }