You send crypto and the sending screen shows an extra charge that seems to go nowhere. This article explains what that charge is, who receives it and why it changes from one transfer to the next.
Published September 30, 2026 · 2 min read
A blockchain is a shared record that no single company runs. Every transfer has to be processed and confirmed by the network before it counts, and the network charges a fee for that work. On Ethereum this charge is usually called gas; on other networks it is simply called a network fee. In practice they are the same thing: the price of getting your transaction confirmed.
The fee is paid to the network, not to the wallet you use and not to the service on the other end. That is why a wallet cannot simply switch it off. The sending side shows the amount before the transfer is broadcast, so you can see the cost before you confirm. Once the transfer is broadcast, it cannot be recalled, and nobody can bring back a transfer sent to the wrong address.
Network capacity is limited, and when many people want transactions confirmed at once, the fee rises. When the network is quiet, it falls. So sending the same coin over the same network in the morning and in the evening can produce two different fees. If a transfer is not urgent, checking the fee shown before you send, and coming back later if it looks high, is a reasonable habit.
Networks differ a lot. For USDT, Ethereum (ERC-20) is usually the most expensive of the common options, while Tron (TRC-20) and BNB Smart Chain (BEP-20) are much cheaper. The table below sums this up. Note that a cheaper network is only an option if the place you are sending to accepts that network.
| Network | Standard | Typical fee level |
|---|---|---|
| Ethereum | ERC-20 | Usually the most expensive of the common USDT networks |
| Tron | TRC-20 | Much cheaper than Ethereum |
| BNB Smart Chain | BEP-20 | Much cheaper than Ethereum |
A network fee is charged by the blockchain. A wallet or card fee is charged by the service you use, and the two add up separately. Take Nexus Pay as an example of the second kind: swapping coins inside the wallet costs 0% at the exchange rate with no markup, moving money from the wallet balance to the card costs 0.1%, and an ATM withdrawal costs 0.25%. On 1000 USDT, that means $999.00 on the card, or $996.50 after an ATM withdrawal, before any fee the ATM owner adds. None of these figures is a blockchain fee.
Read the fee on the sending screen before you confirm, and compare networks if the recipient supports more than one. Then make sure the network matches the address exactly. In Nexus Pay, for instance, each deposit address belongs to one network, and a coin sent through a different network will not arrive and cannot be reversed. Each network also has a minimum deposit shown in the app, and deposits below it are not credited. Saving a small fee is never worth a wrong-network transfer.
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