Tether (USDT) is quite expensive to transfer if you use it on the Ethereum main net. For instance, even if Etherium is $1,000, the gas fee for making a transaction will be around $1.08 compared to $0.21 on the BNB Chain. That’s 5 times lower!
As time goes by, more and more apps and services start to support the BNB network, making it a much cheaper alternative to the Ethereum network.
That’s why today we’ll learn how to add a USDT token to our Metamask wallet connected to the BNB Smart Chain.
By the way, BNB Smart Chain or BNB Chain is the new name of Binance Smart Chain or BSC network (since 2022). So you'll see sometimes the old name. It is the same network, don't be confused.
Preparation
If your Metamask is still not connected to the BNB Chain, you may use my instructions on how to add it in just a couple of clicks.
By default, it will only show a BNB token (which you will need to pay for gas fees while transferring your USDT). It doesn’t mean you can’t receive USDT or other tokens already, but you’ll have to add it manually in order to see its balance and to use Metamask’s send/swap functionality.
Adding USDT token to Metamask’s BNB Chain
Simplest method:
1. Go to the CoinGecko USDT page: https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tether (if you are using the app, open the link inside Metamask’s browser)
2. On the right side, find “Contract” and click to open the list:
3. Choose the network you want to add BUSD (in our case it is BNB Smart Chain) to and then click the Metamask icon near it:
4. Metamask’s window will open. Press the “Add token” button:
Manual method:
If you don’t like the easy method for some reason (I don’t know, maybe you don’t trust CoinGecko or something?), here is the manual (or standard) method:
1. Select a proper network and click the “Import tokens” link at the bottom:
2. Paste “Token Contract Address” depending on the network you use:
BNB Smart Chain: 0x55d398326f99059ff775485246999027b3197955
Avalanche: 0xc7198437980c041c805a1edcba50c1ce5db95118
Polygon: 0xc2132d05d31c914a87c6611c10748aeb04b58e8f
Solana: Es9vMFrzaCERmJfrF4H2FYD4KCoNkY11McCe8BenwNYB
You may want to Google those addresses to verify it is not some scam token!
3. After that, the other fields should be automatically filled. Then click the “Add Custom Token” button (or “Import” button in the app).
4. Click the “Import Tokens” button:
That’s it!
After following the steps above, you shall see the USDT token listed in your MetaMask while connected to the BNB Smart Chain network.
You’ll see your USDT token balance and can easily send it or swap it. Make sure you have some BNB tokens in order to pay the gas fees.
Keep in mind, that Tether (USDT) may not be as stable as some think. So if you are planning to hold it for a long time, you may want to swap it for a more stable stablecoin (sadly, it is not a joke, even if it sounds funny).
I think the more stable coins will be BUSD or USDC. But you’ll probably want to do your own research first.
