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Tokens arrived but no gas to move them: how to fix it
You bridged USDC or USDT to a new network and cannot send it, because every transaction there needs the network's own coin. Here are the quickest ways to get a little gas.
Why this happens
Every network charges fees in its own coin: ETH on Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base and Optimism, SOL on Solana, POL on Polygon, BNB on BNB Chain, TRX on TRON, SUI on Sui. Your USDC or USDT cannot pay that fee.
So if you arrive with stablecoins only, your tokens are safe but stuck until you get a small amount of the gas coin.
Option 1: bridge a small amount of the gas coin
The simplest fix is to send a few dollars of the gas coin from any network where you have funds. Relay, Across, deBridge and Mayan all deliver ETH or SOL in seconds to minutes.
Many bridges also have a gas refuel or extra gas option. Turn it on next time and part of your transfer arrives as the gas coin.
Option 2: withdraw from an exchange
If you have an exchange account, withdraw a small amount of the gas coin directly on the network you need, for example ETH on Base or SOL on Solana. Check that the exchange supports withdrawals on that exact network.
Option 3: gasless swaps and wallets that pay for you
Some wallets and swap apps let you swap a stablecoin into the gas coin without holding gas first. They take the fee out of the token you swap. Availability changes by wallet and network, so look for a gasless or no gas needed label in your wallet's swap screen.
On TRON, transfers use energy and bandwidth. If you have no TRX, you can rent energy from a service, or ask the sender to include a little TRX.
How much gas to keep
You only need a little, but not too little.
- Ethereum mainnet: fees change a lot, keep several dollars of ETH.
- Arbitrum, Base, Optimism and other rollups: one or two dollars of ETH covers many transactions.
- Solana: about 0.01 SOL covers many transactions, plus a small rent deposit for each new token account.
- TRON: a USDT transfer without staked TRX can cost several TRX.
- Polygon and BNB Chain: a dollar of POL or BNB is usually enough to start.
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