USDC on Arbitrum: what a transfer costs right now

What sets the fee on Arbitrum

Arbitrum is a layer 2 on Ethereum, and a transaction pays for two things, both in ETH: the child chain's own resources, priced like Ethereum gas, and the cost of posting the transaction's data to Ethereum. Arbitrum's docs say ArbOS prices the Ethereum part dynamically so the batch poster is reimbursed over time, and charges it as extra gas on the Arbitrum transaction.

On 22 October 2026 a native USDC transfer used 45,419 gas on Arbitrum to an address that already held USDC and 62,970 to one that had never held it, not counting the Ethereum part, which we fetch live from Arbitrum's NodeInterface on every refresh.

Arbitrum One has a gas price floor of 0.02 gwei, according to its chain information, so the fee doesn't fall below a minimum when the network is quiet. Most of the variation comes from the Ethereum part.

Not included: exchange withdrawal fees, bridging, conversion spreads and Align's own pricing, which is quoted on request.

How long a transfer takes

Circle credits a USDC deposit after

12 Ethereum blocks, about 4 to 6 minutes

Bridge withdrawal to Ethereum

About 6.4 days

Arbitrum's sequencer orders a transaction straight away, and blocks are produced whenever there are transactions to sequence. Circle credits a USDC deposit on Arbitrum after the L2 block is included in an Ethereum block and 12 more Ethereum blocks have passed, about 4 to 6 minutes, and that is the time the tracker shows. Withdrawing through Arbitrum's own bridge to Ethereum is different: it waits for a challenge period of about 6.4 days.

The USDC contract on Arbitrum

0xaf88d065e77c8cC2239327C5EDb3A432268e5831

Circle lists this as the USDC contract on Arbitrum One. It's native USDC, which Circle issues on Arbitrum. The older USDC.e on Arbitrum is a version bridged from Ethereum at a different address, which Circle doesn't issue. Sources: Circle, USDC contract addresses; Circle, USDC on Arbitrum. View it on the block explorer.

Sending USDC on Arbitrum to Align

Align accepts USDC on Arbitrum. It also accepts USDC on Ethereum, Solana, Base, Polygon, Optimism and Avalanche, and lists every network it supports in its docs. Money you receive lands in your balance as USDC, and from there you can send it to wallets or pay out in USD, EUR, GBP or AED from named accounts in your company's name.

Not sure which network to use? See which network to use for USDT and USDC payments.

Common mistakes

• Holding USDC.e instead of native USDC. Bridged USDC.e and native USDC can both show as USDC. Compare the contract with 0xaf88d065e77c8cC2239327C5EDb3A432268e5831, and confirm with Align which contract it accepts before you send.
• Sending on Arbitrum Nova or Ethereum instead. Arbitrum One, Arbitrum Nova and Ethereum all use 0x addresses. Check the network field says Arbitrum One.
• No ETH on Arbitrum for gas. Fees are paid in ETH held on Arbitrum, not on Ethereum, so a self-custody wallet needs some there.
• Using the native bridge when you need dollars on Ethereum fast. A withdrawal through Arbitrum's bridge waits about 6.4 days. Circle's CCTP moves native USDC from Arbitrum to Ethereum by burning and minting it instead.

Not sure which network an address is on? Paste it into the wallet address checker. If a transfer has already gone to the wrong network or address, see what to do if you send USDT or USDC to the wrong network.

Other networks

• USDT on Tron (TRC-20) network fee
• USDT on Ethereum (ERC-20) network fee
• USDT on Solana network fee
• USDC on Base network fee
• USDC on Ethereum (ERC-20) network fee
• USDC on Solana network fee
• USDC on Polygon network fee
• USDC on Optimism network fee
• USDC on Avalanche network fee
• Every network side by side, including Aptos

Estimates of network fees for information, not financial advice. Actual fees depend on network load at the moment you send and on the wallet or provider you use.