USDT and USDC are both dollar stablecoins, and for most businesses the useful question is not which one is better but which asset on which network your customers can pay with. CryptoLike accepts USDT on TRON, USDT on Ethereum and USDC on Ethereum. This article compares them by what changes for you: the payer's fee, dollar pricing, payouts, reporting and the risks you cannot remove.
What are USDT and USDC?
USDT and USDC are tokens whose issuers aim to keep each one worth one US dollar. Tether issues USDT and Circle issues USDC; the peg is the issuer's job, not the payment gateway's. Both tokens live on several blockchains, and each blockchain copy is a separate token with its own contract.
The two issuers report differently. Tether publishes the amount of USDT in circulation on its transparency page, typically daily. Circle publishes monthly reserve attestations by an accounting firm and states that USDC is redeemable 1:1 for US dollars. Read both pages yourself before you decide how much to hold: CryptoLike does not rate issuers.
Which stablecoins does CryptoLike accept?
CryptoLike accepts three stablecoin assets on two networks. Each row is a separate asset with its own coin_id in GET /v1/currencies, deposit address, confirmation threshold, balance and line in the fee schedule.
| Asset | Network · standard | Contract on the main network | Decimals | Payer's network fee in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USDT | TRON · TRC20 | TR7NHqjeKQxGTCi8q8ZY4pL8otSzgjLj6t |
6 | TRX |
| USDT | Ethereum · ERC20 | 0xdAC17F958D2ee523a2206206994597C13D831ec7 |
6 | ETH |
| USDC | Ethereum · ERC20 | 0xA0b86991c6218b36c1d19D4a2e9Eb0cE3606eB48 |
6 | ETH |
Stablecoins on other networks, such as BNB Smart Chain, Polygon or Solana, and USDC on TRON are not accepted: a transfer there never reaches a CryptoLike payment. Each asset has its own page — USDT TRC20, USDT ERC20 and USDC ERC20 — with the confirmation threshold and fees.
USDT or USDC: what differs for a business
For a merchant, USDT and USDC behave the same inside CryptoLike: same payment page, statuses, webhooks and reports. The differences are outside the platform: who issues the token, where your customers already hold it, and on which networks you can receive it.
| Aspect | USDT | USDC |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Tether | Circle |
| Networks at CryptoLike | TRON (TRC20) and Ethereum (ERC20) | Ethereum (ERC20) |
| Payer's network fee | TRX on TRON, ETH on Ethereum | ETH |
| Issuer's public reporting | Circulation data on the transparency page | Monthly reserve attestations |
| Freezing | Tether can freeze an address | Circle can block an address |
| Price inside CryptoLike | Market rate to USD, as for other coins | Market rate to USD, as for other coins |
In practice the choice follows your payers. If they keep dollars on an exchange or in a TRON wallet, USDT on TRON is usually what they can send; if they work on Ethereum, USDT and USDC ERC20 both fit. You do not have to pick one: switch on all three and let the payer choose.
Why the network matters as much as the coin
The payer of a stablecoin transfer pays the network fee in the network's own coin, on top of the token amount. On TRON a USDT transfer consumes energy and bandwidth, paid by burning TRX when the sender has no staked resources; on Ethereum the gas is paid in ETH. A customer without TRX or ETH in the wallet cannot send the token at all.
The network also decides how fast a payment is credited: TRON produces a block every 3 seconds, Ethereum every 12, and each asset has its own confirmation threshold. The detailed comparison is in USDT TRC20 vs ERC20, and why a TRON transfer needs TRX in energy and bandwidth explained.
The payment page guards against the most expensive mistake, a transfer on the wrong network. The coin icon of a token carries a network badge — TRX for USDT on TRON, ETH for USDT and USDC on Ethereum — and the page warns: "Send only USDT on the TRON (TRC20) network to this address. Funds sent on another network cannot be recovered."
Pricing in dollars and getting paid in a stablecoin
A stablecoin payment priced in the token is paid exactly; a payment priced in dollars is converted like any other coin. CryptoLike does not treat USDT or USDC as equal to one dollar by definition.
- Priced in the token (
"currency": "USDT"or"USDC"). No conversion and no spread: the payer sends 250.00 USDT for a 250.00 USDT payment. - Priced in USD or EUR. The crypto amount is the fiat amount divided by the market rate, with no conversion spread, and rounded up to the token's 6 decimals. The rate is locked when the asset is chosen and stays fixed for the time to pay.
So a 250 USD payment paid in USDC is usually a little more than 250 USDC. If your prices and books are in dollars, that is the honest result of a conversion; if you want round token amounts, price in the token. How the lock works in detail: pricing in USD, getting paid in crypto.
Holding, paying out and reporting stablecoins
What you receive stays in that asset. CryptoLike keeps a balance per asset, so USDT on TRON, USDT on Ethereum and USDC are three balances, and an incoming payment is never converted on its way to your balance. A USDT TRC20 balance is paid out as USDT on TRON. The cabinet has a Swap section for exchanging between balances; converting is not available at the moment, and USDC has no pairs there at all.
Payouts go out through the API or a CSV of up to 1,000 rows, in the asset of the balance. Before you confirm, the estimate shows the network fee converted into the token, so you need no TRX or ETH balance of your own; the fee is reserved and charged in USDT or USDC. Receiving on the network you pay out on saves you from moving money between networks yourself.
Statements and exports are per asset too, with the fiat value of each entry fixed when it was booked. That is what an accountant needs for stablecoins: amounts in the token and a dollar value at the moment of the operation. Details are in crypto payments in your books.
Risks and how to limit them
A stablecoin removes the price swings of BTC or ETH but adds risks of its own. None of them can be removed by a payment gateway; you can only decide how to live with them.
- The issuer can freeze an address. A payer whose address is frozen cannot send the token at all, so the payment simply never arrives.
- The peg is the issuer's promise. CryptoLike records amounts in the token; if a token trades below a dollar, your balance in it is worth less. Paying out regularly limits how much you hold.
- Wrong network. A token sent on another network does not reach the payment and cannot be recovered by CryptoLike. The badge and the warning on the payment page are there for this.
- Sanctioned addresses. Where the sender can be identified, incoming payments are screened against a sanctions list, and a match puts the funds on hold; payouts to a listed address are refused. See AML screening of crypto payments.
How to start accepting USDT and USDC with CryptoLike
Stablecoins need no separate integration: they use the same API, plugins and payment links as every other asset. The owner or an admin switches them on in the cabinet, and every new payment can offer them.
- In the cabinet, open Coins and turn on Enabled and For invoices for each stablecoin asset you want.
- Create payments in USD or EUR and let the payer choose, or in USDT/USDC to get an exact token amount.
- Share a link, install a CMS plugin or call
POST /v1/invoices— see the guide to accepting USDT TRC20 payments, or create a crypto payment link without a website.
Sources
Public facts about the issuers were checked on 2026-10-04:
FAQ
Is USDT or USDC better for business payments?
Neither is better inside CryptoLike: both get the same payment page, statuses and reports. Choose by what your customers hold and which network they use. USDT is accepted on TRON and Ethereum, USDC on Ethereum, and you can switch on all three assets.
Is 1 USDT always equal to 1 USD in CryptoLike?
No. A payment priced in USDT is paid in USDT exactly. A payment priced in USD is converted at the market rate, with no spread, and rounded up, so the token amount usually differs from the dollar amount slightly.
Can I receive USDT and pay out USDC?
Not directly. CryptoLike keeps a balance per asset, and a USDT balance is paid out in USDT on the same network. Converting between balances is not available at the moment, and there are no USDC pairs in the Swap section. Accept the asset you plan to pay out, or let the payer choose and pay out from each balance.
Does the payer need TRX or ETH to send stablecoins?
Yes. The network fee is paid in the network's coin: TRX for USDT on TRON, ETH for USDT and USDC on Ethereum. A wallet holding only the token cannot send it, so mention this to customers who pay for the first time.
Can I accept USDC on TRON or another network?
No. CryptoLike accepts USDC on Ethereum only, and USDT on TRON and Ethereum. A token sent on any other network does not reach the payment and cannot be recovered, which is why the payment page names the network next to the address.