Top Up Your Crypto Card with USDT ERC-20
ERC-20 is USDT on Ethereum. You can top up a Kripicard with it by sending USDT to the Ethereum deposit address in your dashboard (it starts with 0x) on the Ethereum network. It is the most expensive of the three accepted networks to send on, but the gas fee is the same whether you send $50 or $50,000. That makes ERC-20 a sensible choice for large top-ups, or when your USDT already sits in an Ethereum wallet such as MetaMask or a hardware wallet. For small or frequent top-ups, TRC-20 or Solana will almost always cost less.
The one thing to understand about ERC-20 fees
Ethereum gas pays for computation, not value. Transferring USDT uses roughly the same amount of gas no matter how many dollars move, so the fee is a fixed cost per transfer whose size depends on how busy the network is at that moment.
In percentage terms that fixed cost shrinks as the top-up grows. A $4 gas fee is 0.4% of a $1,000 top-up, about a tenth of the 4% funding fee. On a $40 top-up it is 10%, more than double the funding fee. The top-up calculator shows exactly where the crossover sits for your amount.
When ERC-20 is the right network
- Large, infrequent top-ups, such as funding a month of ad spend in one transfer.
- USDT already on Ethereum. Bridging or moving it to another chain first costs gas anyway, plus bridge risk.
- Hardware wallet custody where Ethereum is the account you keep funds in.
- Treasury wallets for businesses that hold stablecoins on Ethereum for accounting reasons. See crypto cards for business.
Sending a top-up from MetaMask or an exchange
- 1. Copy the ERC-20 deposit address from the dashboard. It starts with
0xfollowed by 40 hexadecimal characters. - 2. Confirm the token is Tether USDT, contract
0xdAC17F958D2ee523a2206206994597C13D831ec7. Look-alike tokens named USDT exist and are worthless. - 3. On an exchange, choose ERC-20 or Ethereum as the network. In MetaMask, make sure Ethereum Mainnet is selected, not an L2 or a sidechain.
- 4. Check the gas estimate. If the network is congested and you are not in a hurry, waiting a few hours often brings it down. The gas fee estimator shows current prices.
- 5. Keep ETH in the wallet for gas. A wallet holding only USDT cannot send it.
The 0x address trap: Ethereum, BNB Chain, Arbitrum, Polygon
An ERC-20 address is valid on every EVM chain. BNB Chain, Arbitrum, Optimism, Base and Polygon all accept it, and many wallets will happily send USDT on any of them. A transfer on the wrong chain still lands at the same address string, but on a different ledger. It is not a deposit Kripicard sees.
This is the most common top-up mistake on the platform. Before you confirm, read the network name on the confirmation screen, not just the address. If it has already happened, follow the wrong-network recovery steps.
How ERC-20 compares with the other networks
| TRC-20 (Tron) | ERC-20 (Ethereum) | Solana (SPL) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address format | Starts with T, 34 characters | Starts with 0x, 42 characters | Base58, 32–44 characters |
| Fee paid in | TRX (energy and bandwidth) | ETH (gas) | SOL |
| Typical fee level | Low | Highest, varies with congestion | Fractions of a cent |
| Best for | Everyday top-ups from exchanges | Large top-ups from Ethereum wallets | Small and frequent top-ups |
| USDT decimals | 6 | 6 | 6 |
Related network guides and tools
Each network has its own address format, fee token and failure modes. The guides below cover them one at a time.
- Top up with USDT TRC-20
- Top up with USDT on Solana
- TRC-20 vs ERC-20 vs Solana
- USDT sent to the wrong network
- Crypto Card Top-Up Calculator: how much USDT to send on each network, with every fee shown.
- Kripicard fees: per-card, funding and tier pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Is USDT ERC-20 accepted?
Why is ERC-20 more expensive than TRC-20?
Can I send USDT from Arbitrum, Base or Polygon to my ERC-20 address?
Can I top up with USDC on Ethereum to the same address?
How many confirmations does an ERC-20 top-up need?
Fund your card from Ethereum
Use your ERC-20 deposit address for large top-ups and spend on a Visa or Mastercard virtual card at 0% FX markup.
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