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Understanding and Managing Cycles

Explains what cycles are on ICP, how they replace gas fees, and how you can manage them using Plug.

Updated this week

Cycles are how computation works on the Internet Computer. Unlike traditional blockchains, ICP has no gas fees. Instead, developers run smart contracts, called canisters, that must be funded with cycles to operate β€” similar to how you pay for cloud services like AWS.

In Plug, you can:

  • Mint cycles by burning ICP

  • Send cycles to any canister

  • Set up auto top-up, so a canister is automatically refueled when its balance drops below a certain threshold

Cycles are essential to keep canisters running smoothly, powering apps and services on the Internet Computer.

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