Stablecoin Payments for Business: USDT vs USDC, Networks and Minimums

Should your business accept USDT or USDC?

Accept the stablecoins your customers hold, on the networks they use. On BlockBee, USDT and USDC share most networks but not all. On 26 October 2026, BlockBee's API listed USDT on 10 networks, including Tron and TON, and USDC on 10, including Arbitrum One and Monad; BlockBee stopped USDC on Tron in 2024. USDT minimums ran from 0.5 USDT (Polygon, TON) to 10 USDT (Tron). Fees start at 1%, with volume discounts down to 0.25%, plus network fees.

This guide uses BlockBee's own data: its API, its cryptocurrencies page, its announcements and its blog.

What are stablecoins, and why do merchants accept them?

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to keep a steady value by tracking a currency such as the US dollar or the euro; USDT (Tether), for example, is designed to track the value of the US dollar. Tracking the dollar does not mean the quoted price is always exactly $1: on 26 October 2026, BlockBee's API priced USDT at $0.9984 and USDC at $0.9998.

For a merchant, the draw is lower price risk. BlockBee's USDT guide notes that many crypto users choose USDT to avoid some of the price swings of BTC or ETH, and a stablecoin checkout serves customers who already hold stablecoins.

Which networks does BlockBee support for USDT and USDC?

BlockBee's API listed these networks on 26 October 2026:

• USDT, 10 networks: Ethereum (ERC-20), BNB Smart Chain (BEP-20), Tron (TRC-20), Solana, Polygon, TON, Base, Optimism, Linea and Avalanche-C. BlockBee lists USD₮0 separately, under the ticker usdt0, on Arbitrum One, Berachain, Optimism and Monad.
• USDC, 10 networks: Ethereum (ERC-20), BNB Smart Chain (BEP-20), Solana, Polygon, Base, Arbitrum One, Optimism, Linea, Avalanche-C and Monad. On Arbitrum One, Avalanche-C, Polygon and Optimism, bridged USDC is listed separately as USDC.e.

USDC is not offered on Tron: BlockBee delisted it there from 1 July 2024, and its announcement says this coincided with Circle, USDC's issuer, ending its support for Tron.

Other stablecoins. BlockBee also lists PayPal USD (PYUSD), which BlockBee calls PayPal's stablecoin, on Ethereum, Arbitrum One and Solana; DAI on Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Arbitrum One, Base and Optimism; EURC on Solana; and TrueUSD (TUSD) on Tron.

How do you choose a network for stablecoin payments?

Start with the networks your customers use, then compare minimums and network fees. A payment below the minimum is disregarded and the funds are lost, and the network fee to forward each payment is deducted from it by default.

Minimums and fee estimates are from BlockBee's API on 26 October 2026, with fees converted to dollars at its prices that day. They are estimates only: actual fees vary with network congestion and can change by the time a payment is forwarded. These estimates are for one output address. Without prepaid fees, BlockBee's own fee goes out in a second transaction, so a payment's network cost can be higher.

• Tron: BlockBee's USDT guide notes that many customers associate USDT with Tron, but on 26 October 2026 it had the highest USDT minimum, and BlockBee's estimate to forward one USDT payment there, about $4.26, was on its own more than BlockBee's 1% fee on any payment under about $426, before any second transaction for that fee.
• Ethereum: on 26 October 2026, BlockBee's estimates to move the same tokens were higher on Ethereum than on BNB Smart Chain, Solana or Polygon. For ETH and the other Ethereum networks, see our Ethereum payment gateway guide.
• Match the token exactly. By default, BlockBee's API ignores a payment in a different token from the one requested. On Polygon, for example, native USDC (polygon/usdc) and bridged USDC.e (polygon/usdc.e) are separate tickers, so tell customers which one you take.

What does it cost to accept stablecoins?

BlockBee's fees start at 1%, with volume discounts down to 0.25%, plus network fees. The rate depends on your volume over the previous 30 days and your industry's risk tier. On Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash a minimum of 546 satoshis applies because of the dust threshold (5,460 litoshis on Litecoin); every other coin's minimum fee in BlockBee's API is 0. So a stablecoin payment pays the percentage and the network fee, with no minimum fee.

Prepaid fees. Stablecoins are tokens, so with prepaid fees both BlockBee's fee and the network fee come from your credits (1 credit = 1 USD), and the full amount reaches your address: if a customer sends 100 USDT, 100 USDT arrives. Credits are held per profile and not refunded; when they run out, fees are deducted from payments again.

Worked example. A $50 order paid in USDT, at BlockBee's published 1% starting rate, pays BlockBee $0.50. By BlockBee's estimates on 26 October 2026, forwarding it to one address would cost about $0.001 on Solana and about $4.26 on Tron, before any second transaction for BlockBee's own fee. See the fees page for your own rate.

How do you start accepting stablecoins with BlockBee?

Our guide to accepting USDT payments walks through the steps. On BlockBee, you add a receiving address for each token you accept, choose which coins customers see (for Checkout and the PoS, in Payment Settings), and connect through Checkout, payment links, a plugin or the API. In the API each token has its own ticker, such as trc20/usdt or sol/usdc. BlockBee has no sandbox or test mode, so test with a small real payment above the minimum; its quickstart uses about $1 in Litecoin.

Frequently asked questions

Is USDT or USDC better for business payments?

Neither is better everywhere. Offer the one your customers hold, on networks whose minimums and fees suit your order sizes. On BlockBee, Tron and TON carry USDT but not USDC.

How do I accept USDC payments?

On BlockBee, add a USDC receiving address for each network you want, then choose USDC in Payment Settings for Checkout and the PoS, or use its ticker with the API, such as erc20/usdc or sol/usdc. Test with a small real payment above the minimum: on 26 October 2026, 1 USDC on most networks, 0.5 on Polygon, 2 on Ethereum and 3 on Base. USDC is not offered on Tron or TON. For USDT, our USDT guide walks through setup.

What is the minimum USDT payment?

It depends on the network. On 26 October 2026, BlockBee's API listed 0.5 USDT on Polygon and TON; 1 USDT on BNB Smart Chain, Solana, Optimism, Linea and Avalanche-C; 2 USDT on Ethereum; 3 USDT on Base; and 10 USDT on Tron.

Is a stablecoin always worth $1?

No. Dollar stablecoins such as USDT are designed to track the dollar, but the quoted price is not always exactly $1: on 26 October 2026, BlockBee's API priced USDT at $0.9984 and USDC at $0.9998.

Does BlockBee support PayPal USD (PYUSD)?

Yes, on Ethereum, Arbitrum One and Solana, with minimums of 2, 1 and 1 PYUSD on 26 October 2026.

Can BlockBee pay me in dollars?

No. BlockBee pays out in crypto, so you receive the stablecoin itself. For dollars, use an exchange deposit address as your receiving address and sell the stablecoin there.

To get started, read the documentation or create an account.