What is USDT (Tether)?
DefinitionUSDT, or Tether, is a stablecoin designed to stay at 1 US dollar per token. Its issuer says each token is backed by reserves, and USDT exists on several blockchains, including Tron (TRC20), Ethereum (ERC20), TON and BNB Smart Chain (BEP20).
How USDT works
USDT works as a token on existing blockchains: the issuer creates new tokens when customers deposit dollars and removes them when tokens are redeemed. On each network, USDT is a smart contract that tracks who holds how much.
USDT launched in 2014 and has become one of the most widely used assets in crypto, both for trading and for saving and sending dollars without a dollar bank account.
One token, several networks
USDT on different networks is the same dollar token, but it lives on separate blockchains with their own addresses and fees:
- Tron (TRC20): addresses start with T; fees are paid in TRX or energy
- Ethereum (ERC20): 0x addresses; gas is paid in ETH
- BNB Smart Chain (BEP20): the same 0x address style; gas is paid in BNB
- TON: addresses usually start with UQ or EQ; fees are paid in TON
Mistakes and risks to avoid
Most USDT losses come from avoidable mistakes, so check these before every transfer:
- Sending on a network the receiver does not support, such as ERC20 to a TRC20-only deposit address
- Trying to send without the network’s fee coin in your wallet
- Copying a poisoned look-alike address from your transaction history
- Ignoring issuer risk: the issuer can freeze USDT at specific addresses, and the peg depends on its reserves
USDT in Waletifi
Waletifi lets you hold and send USDT on Tron, TON, BNB Smart Chain, Ethereum and other networks, shows the network and the fee before you confirm, and warns you about look-alike addresses. Where available, you can buy USDT P2P with local currency through on-chain escrow, or move it between networks with a cross-network transfer.
