Every network charges its fee in its own coin, never in the token you are sending. Here is which coin each chain needs, the mix-ups that strand people, and how to top up the right one.
USDT and USDC live on many networks, and every network has its own fuel. Whatever token you send, the network fee (gas) is paid in that network’s own coin, from the same address. Hold the token without the coin and the token cannot move. This is the one rule behind every “insufficient funds for gas” message.
The coin each network needs
- Tron: TRX. A USDT transfer burns about 6 to 7 TRX to an address that already holds USDT, roughly twice that to one that never has (measured on our own Tron transfers in 2026).
- BNB Smart Chain: BNB. A token transfer usually costs a few cents or less.
- Ethereum: ETH. The fee moves with demand on the network and is usually the highest of the networks here.
- Arbitrum One: ETH, on Arbitrum.
- Base: ETH, on Base.
- Polygon PoS: POL, the coin that replaced MATIC as Polygon’s gas coin in 2024. Some wallets and exchanges still show the old name.
- Solana: SOL. Sending USDT to a wallet that has never held it also creates that wallet’s USDT account, which costs about 0.002 SOL, usually paid by the sender.
- Avalanche C-Chain: AVAX.
Your wallet shows the exact fee before you confirm. Fees change with the network’s own prices, so read that figure rather than any number online, this page included.
The mix-ups that strand people
- ETH on the wrong network. ETH on Ethereum does not pay a fee on Arbitrum or Base, and ETH on Arbitrum does not pay one on Base. The ETH has to sit on the same network as the token.
- BNB on opBNB instead of BNB Smart Chain. Same name, different network.
- The coin on the right network but at a different address. Gas is paid by the address that sends, so the coin has to arrive at the address that holds the token.
- Sending more of the token to fix it. The fee is never paid in the token, so more USDT changes nothing.
How to top up the right coin
From an exchange account
Withdraw a small amount of the network’s coin to your address, and pick that exact network on the withdrawal screen: ETH on Arbitrum, not ETH on Ethereum; BNB on BNB Smart Chain, not opBNB.
From crypto you hold anywhere else
Swap a little of any coin you hold, on any network, into the coin you need, delivered to the address that holds your token. On Cambio there is no account to open: you give that address, send what you have, and the quote shows what will arrive before you send anything.
- Get gas for any chain: all eight networks
- Get TRX for Tron fees
- Get BNB for gas on BNB Smart Chain
- USDT → ETH on Ethereum
- USDT → ETH on Arbitrum One
- USDT → ETH on Base
- USDT → POL on Polygon PoS
- Get SOL for Solana fees
- USDT → AVAX on Avalanche C-Chain
From a friend
Anyone who holds the coin on the right network can send you a small amount in a minute. Give them the exact address and name the network.
How much to keep
Enough for the transfers you plan, plus a margin. A coin you hold only for fees is easy to forget, and the next transfer finds it empty. Some wallets now offer to take the fee in the token you are sending; where yours does, it shows the cost before you confirm.
