Below are step-by-step procedures for the most common things people need to do with USDt, XAUt, and USAt: acquire, send, receive, back up, recover, switch networks, choose a wallet, and recover from mistakes. Each section is self-contained.
\nThere are four common ways to acquire USDt. Which is right for you depends on what you have today (cash, local-bank money, another crypto) and what is available in your country.
\nA crypto exchange is a website or app where you can swap local currency for USDt.
\nBest when you have a bank account and your country has a regulated exchange.
\nA P2P platform matches you with another person who wants to sell USDt for your local currency or cash.
\nBest when banking is limited or you prefer cash. Riskier than an exchange: read the safety page in this knowledge base first.
\nIn some countries there are physical shops or trusted local agents that will sell you USDt for cash. The curated list of vetted options for a given country is maintained in the providers directory (filterable by country); the public version is at usdt.directory.
\nIf you are a freelancer or remittance recipient, the simplest path is often to be paid in USDt: you give the sender your wallet address, they send USDt.
\n| If you have | \nStart with | \n
|---|---|
| A bank account, want simplicity | \nA regulated exchange | \n
| Cash, no bank | \nP2P or a local agent | \n
| Another crypto already | \nSwap it for USDt on an exchange | \n
| A paying client or sender | \nReceive directly | \n
After acquiring USDt, move it to a wallet you control and back up that wallet (see below).
\nThe transfer is irreversible once confirmed.
\nAlways verify the address you share with the sender once more before the transaction is sent.
\nMost users care about three things when picking a network: fee, speed, and compatibility.
\n| Network | \nTypical fee for sending USDt | \nTypical confirmation time | \n
|---|---|---|
| Tron | \nA small fraction of a US dollar | \nSeconds | \n
| Ethereum | \nSeveral US dollars during busy hours | \nSeconds to a minute | \n
| BSC, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, others | \nUsually a few cents to a fraction of a dollar | \nSeconds | \n
Tron is the most common choice for low-fee USDt transfers. Ethereum is widely supported but more expensive. Always confirm with the receiver that their wallet supports the network you intend to use.
\nIf you use a self-custodial wallet, the only thing that matters more than anything else is your seed phrase. The seed phrase is the list of 12 or 24 words your wallet generates when you set it up. Whoever has those words controls the wallet.
\nNever share your seed phrase with anyone. Not Tether. Not "support". Not a friend who "needs to help you". Never type it into a website. Never send it by email, message, photograph, or screenshot. Anyone asking for your seed phrase is trying to steal from you.
\nIf you suspect anyone has seen your seed phrase, create a brand-new wallet with a brand-new seed phrase and move your assets to it immediately.
\nAs long as you have the seed phrase, you can recover the wallet on any compatible device.
\nBlockchain transactions are not reversible. There is no way to undo a confirmed send. There are still a few practical things to try, in this order:
\nGoing forward: copy-paste the address rather than typing it, and always check the first six and last six characters before confirming a send.
\nThe off-ramp is the reverse of the on-ramp:
\nFor a list of vetted off-ramps in your country, see the providers directory (filterable by country and type); the public version is at usdt.directory.
\nA practical rule of thumb that a lot of crypto users settle on:
\nYou do not need all three on day one. Most people start with an exchange or a mobile wallet, then add a hardware wallet once they are holding an amount that justifies it.
\nFor the Tether Wallet side specifically, see the dedicated Tether Wallet page in this knowledge base.
\nIf you sent USDt and it has not arrived after the usual time for that network (a few seconds on Tron, a couple of minutes on Ethereum on a normal day, sometimes longer when the network is busy), here is the order to check things:
\nIf after all of this it is still unresolved, contact Tether Wallet Support with the transaction ID, the network, the sending and receiving addresses, and your wallet version. They can help triage the specifics that this assistant cannot see.
\nThis question comes up most often when a sender and receiver realise mid-transfer that they are not on the same network.
\nBefore the send:
\nAfter the send, if you are unsure:
\nImportant: even if the address looks like it could work on both networks (some networks share address formats), the transaction still only exists on the network it was sent on. There is no automatic cross-network movement.
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