Just took a look at the mempool—when it’s congested, Gas spikes in a way that’s completely outrageous. Transactions line up like waiting for a bus; if you bump the fee, others bump it too. In the end, who gets on-chain first depends entirely on who’s willing to tip miners the most. Sometimes it even looks like there’s a pretty thick price spread in the pool, but the moment you rush in, you get shoved aside by the next big order behind you—the slippage just wipes out your profit. Recently the re-staking setup has been getting popular—things like “shared security” and “layered yields.” It sounds like a nesting doll, and it feels lively—but if you think it through, weigh the risks yourself. Anyway, for my small-scale operation, I’ll still be sensible and just wait for low-Gas time periods. If it’s slower, so be it—at least I’m not eating the fees for nothing.