diff --git a/src/fee-estimator.ts b/src/fee-estimator.ts
index 0a078b7e..236b3cb8 100644
--- a/src/fee-estimator.ts
+++ b/src/fee-estimator.ts
@@ -7,12 +7,17 @@ export interface FeeEstimatorOptions {
   minRefetchIntervalMs?: number;
 }
 
+export interface FeeEstimateOptions {
+  onError?: (error: Error) => void;
+}
+
 export class FeeEstimator {
   private baseFee: number;
   private isEstimating: boolean = false;
   private currentPromise: Promise<number> | null = null;
-  private lastFetchTimestamp: number = 0;
   private readonly minRefetchIntervalMs: number;
+  private lastSuccessfulFetchAtValue: number | null = null;
+  private lastErrorValue: Error | null = null;
 
   constructor(initialFee: number = 100, options?: FeeEstimatorOptions) {
     this.baseFee = initialFee;
@@ -27,14 +32,17 @@ export class FeeEstimator {
    * If `minRefetchIntervalMs` was configured, returns the cached `baseFee` when
    * called within that window after the last successful fetch.
    */
-  async estimateFee(networkFetcher: () => Promise<number>): Promise<number> {
+  async estimateFee(
+    networkFetcher: () => Promise<number>,
+    options: FeeEstimateOptions = {}
+  ): Promise<number> {
     if (this.currentPromise) {
       return this.currentPromise;
     }
 
     // Return cached fee if within the minimum re-fetch interval
     if (this.minRefetchIntervalMs > 0) {
-      const elapsed = Date.now() - this.lastFetchTimestamp;
+      const elapsed = Date.now() - (this.lastSuccessfulFetchAtValue ?? 0);
       if (elapsed < this.minRefetchIntervalMs) {
         return this.baseFee;
       }
@@ -52,9 +60,14 @@ export class FeeEstimator {
         
         // Round to 7 decimal places for precision handling
         this.baseFee = Math.round(rawFee * 10000000) / 10000000;
-        this.lastFetchTimestamp = Date.now();
+        this.lastSuccessfulFetchAtValue = Date.now();
+        this.lastErrorValue = null;
         return this.baseFee;
       } catch (error) {
+        const normalizedError = error instanceof Error ? error : new Error(String(error));
+        this.lastErrorValue = normalizedError;
+        options.onError?.(normalizedError);
+
         // Fallback sequence: return the last known base fee
         return this.baseFee;
       } finally {
@@ -74,4 +87,16 @@ export class FeeEstimator {
   getBaseFee(): number {
     return this.baseFee;
   }
+
+  get lastSuccessfulFetchAt(): number | null {
+    return this.lastSuccessfulFetchAtValue;
+  }
+
+  get lastError(): Error | null {
+    return this.lastErrorValue;
+  }
+
+  get isStale(): boolean {
+    return this.lastErrorValue !== null;
+  }
 }
diff --git a/src/index.ts b/src/index.ts
index 469ff1d0..964f06d5 100644
--- a/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/index.ts
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ export type { ConduitContract } from './errors.js';
 export * from './types/index.js';
 export * from './adapters/index.js';
 export { FeeEstimator } from './fee-estimator.js';
+export type { FeeEstimateOptions } from './fee-estimator.js';
 export { WebSocketRelayer } from './relayer/WebSocketRelayer.js';
 export { ErrorMapper } from './relayer/ErrorMapper.js';
 export type { MappedErrorHandler } from './relayer/ErrorMapper.js';
diff --git a/src/tests/fee-estimator.test.ts b/src/tests/fee-estimator.test.ts
index 457fb908..4af85869 100644
--- a/src/tests/fee-estimator.test.ts
+++ b/src/tests/fee-estimator.test.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { describe, it, expect, vi } from 'vitest';
 import { FeeEstimator } from '../fee-estimator.js';
 
 describe('FeeEstimator - Race condition and edge cases', () => {
@@ -31,31 +31,46 @@ describe('FeeEstimator - Race condition and edge cases', () => {
     });
     
     expect(estimator.getBaseFee()).toBe(150.1234568);
+    expect(estimator.lastSuccessfulFetchAt).toEqual(expect.any(Number));
+    expect(estimator.lastError).toBeNull();
+    expect(estimator.isStale).toBe(false);
   });
 
-  it('should execute the fallback sequence when network fails', async () => {
+  it('should surface the specific error when falling back after network failure', async () => {
     const estimator = new FeeEstimator(100);
+    const onError = vi.fn();
     
     const failingFetcher = async () => {
       throw new Error('Network error');
     };
 
-    const fee = await estimator.estimateFee(failingFetcher);
+    const fee = await estimator.estimateFee(failingFetcher, { onError });
     
     // Fallback should return the original base fee
     expect(fee).toBe(100);
+    expect(onError).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(onError.mock.calls[0]![0]).toBeInstanceOf(Error);
+    expect(onError.mock.calls[0]![0].message).toBe('Network error');
+    expect(estimator.lastError?.message).toBe('Network error');
+    expect(estimator.lastSuccessfulFetchAt).toBeNull();
+    expect(estimator.isStale).toBe(true);
   });
   
-  it('should handle floating-point precision properly with invalid math', async () => {
+  it('should expose stale state when invalid math falls back', async () => {
     const estimator = new FeeEstimator(100);
+    const onError = vi.fn();
     
     const badMathFetcher = async () => {
       return NaN; 
     };
 
-    const fee = await estimator.estimateFee(badMathFetcher);
+    const fee = await estimator.estimateFee(badMathFetcher, { onError });
     // Boundary checks should catch this and fallback
     expect(fee).toBe(100);
+    expect(onError).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+    expect(onError.mock.calls[0]![0].message).toBe('Invalid network fee response');
+    expect(estimator.lastError?.message).toBe('Invalid network fee response');
+    expect(estimator.isStale).toBe(true);
   });
 
   it('should handle multiple sequential requests successfully', async () => {
@@ -69,5 +84,22 @@ describe('FeeEstimator - Race condition and edge cases', () => {
     
     const fee2 = await estimator.estimateFee(fetcher2);
     expect(fee2).toBe(130.5);
+    expect(estimator.isStale).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('should clear stale status after a later successful fetch', async () => {
+    const estimator = new FeeEstimator(100);
+
+    await estimator.estimateFee(async () => {
+      throw new Error('temporary outage');
+    });
+    expect(estimator.isStale).toBe(true);
+    expect(estimator.lastError?.message).toBe('temporary outage');
+
+    const recoveredFee = await estimator.estimateFee(async () => 140.25);
+    expect(recoveredFee).toBe(140.25);
+    expect(estimator.lastError).toBeNull();
+    expect(estimator.lastSuccessfulFetchAt).toEqual(expect.any(Number));
+    expect(estimator.isStale).toBe(false);
   });
 });