In this article we explain what you need to send Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) from Jiggle, and why you may see ‘insufficient funds’ even when your stablecoin balance looks fine.
To send USDT or USDC you need a balance of the native coin of the blockchain your tokens are on. That coin pays the network (gas) fee. Your USDT or USDC cannot be used to pay it.
Why You Need A Second Coin To Send Stablecoins
USDT and USDC are tokens, not blockchains. Each one lives on a host blockchain, and every transaction on that blockchain is paid for in the blockchain’s own coin. The network fee is deducted from your native coin balance, not your stablecoin balance.
So if you hold 100 USDC on Ethereum but 0 ETH, you cannot send the USDC until you add some ETH. The same applies on every other network.
Which Coin Covers The Fee
It depends on the network your USDT or USDC is on:
USDT or USDC on Ethereum (ERC-20): fee paid in ETH. Addresses start with 0x.
USDT or USDC on Solana (SPL): fee paid in SOL. Addresses are a long string of letters and numbers with no 0x.
The fee is always paid in the native coin of the network the token sits on, never in the token itself.
Not sure which network your tokens are on? The address format is a quick clue, and our article on sending cryptocurrency on the correct network has more detail.
‘Insufficient Funds’ When Sending USDT Or USDC
This almost always means your native coin balance is too low to cover the network fee, not that you are short of USDT or USDC.
To fix it, go to the portfolio and select the native coin for that network (for example ETH for USDT on Ethereum, or SOL for USDC on Solana) > ‘Buy’. This takes you to our exchange partner, where you can buy a small amount. Network fees change with demand, so keep a little more than you think you need.
Why Do My USDT And USDC Share An Address With My ETH Or SOL?
Tokens are stored on their host blockchain, so a token and the native coin on the same network share one address. Your USDC on Ethereum has the same 0x address as your ETH; your USDC on Solana has the same address as your SOL.
What Is An ERC-20 Token?
ERC stands for ‘Ethereum Request for Comment’. ERC-20 is the standard used to create tokens on the Ethereum network. USDT and USDC on Ethereum are ERC-20 tokens, which is why they need ETH to move.
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Jiggle is not affiliated with any third-party platforms, external links, or any other third-party resources mentioned in this article. As such, Jiggle cannot guarantee the performance of third-party products or services, or that the steps shown and the information provided will always be accurate.