Introduction#
USDT-TRC20 is a stablecoin based on the Tron blockchain.
Previously, when transferring USDT, it was initially an ERC20 token. However, due to the high fees on the Ethereum network (often starting at several tens of dollars), TRC20 USDT was introduced later. With its low gas fees (no fees for transfers within exchanges, and only 1U fee for on-chain transfers), it quickly became popular and became the most convenient stablecoin to use.
Dramatic Increase in Transfer Fees#
Since Tron changed its transfer logic last year, the transfer fees for USDT-TRC20 have gradually become exorbitant.
Now, if you transfer USDT to a TRX wallet that has never been used before, you will find that the transfer will cost approximately 27trx in gas fees.
Currently, the price of trx is around 0.08u, which means that the transfer fee is approximately $2.16. This loss is extremely frightening for small transfers.
Transfers on the trx blockchain consume bandwidth and energy. Bandwidth is replenished at a rate of 1500BP per 24 hours (with a maximum replenishment limit), and energy can only be obtained by pledging trx.
Currently, there is a concept on the trx blockchain called wallet activation. Transferring usdt to an activated wallet requires a consumption of 31895 energy, 345 bandwidth, and a small amount of (0.3-0.5) trx.
If you don't have trx pledged to obtain energy, you will need to directly consume trx to pay for the energy fee.
Transferring to an inactive address will double the energy consumption. This is also the main reason why the usdt transfer fee has increased from 1U to 2U.
How to Reduce USDT-TRC20 Transfer Fees#
From the above, we can understand that the increase in usdt transfer fees is mainly due to energy consumption. So all we need to do is find a way to obtain energy.
Pledge TRX#
You can obtain energy by pledging TRX.
According to this article, we can understand that the distribution of energy is fixed, and energy is allocated to all frozen wallets based on the frozen amount.
The amount of energy obtained = TRX frozen to obtain energy / Total TRX frozen to obtain energy on the entire network * 50,000,000,000
If you want to receive free transfers (64000) once a day, currently (2023.06.06), you need to pledge approximately 4000trx. In other words, pledging TRX equivalent to 320USDT is sufficient.
Purchase Energy and Bandwidth Directly from Energy Vault#
Currently, Energy Vault: www.tronify.io
allows you to directly purchase energy and bandwidth.
Currently, 3.68trx can buy 32000 energy, which is approximately 0.3U.
The transfer network fee is reduced from 13.39trx to 0.368trx.
This means that the cost is reduced from 1.07U to 0.33U, saving 70%.
The transfer fee to an address without USDT will also be reduced from 27TRX to 7.3TRX.
If you only occasionally trade, this service can help you save some fees.
If you have a large amount of TRX, you can also lease it to Energy Vault and earn a 25% annualized return. However, the risk is that if Energy Vault runs away, you will lose all your investment.
Therefore, my suggestion is to directly purchase energy through Energy Vault when making transfers.