How to buy USDT

What USDT is, briefly

USDT (Tether) is a stablecoin designed to track the US dollar. Tether issues it on many blockchains, including Ethereum, Tron and Solana, and treats one token on any of them as equal to one on another. When you buy USDT on an exchange, it sits in your account balance; the network only matters when you withdraw it.

That's why donors often use it: the recipient gets close to the dollar amount you intended. For how it compares with Bitcoin and Ethereum, see which cryptocurrency to donate.

Step by step: buying USDT

Exchanges and apps such as Coinbase, Kraken or Binance all follow roughly the same process, but which ones are available, and whether they sell USDT at all, varies by country.

• Pick an exchange or app that is permitted to operate where you live. Check your national financial regulator's website or register if it keeps one.
• Create an account and complete identity verification. Expect to upload an ID document and sometimes a selfie or proof of address.
• Add a payment method: bank transfer, debit or credit card, or another local option the platform offers.
• Buy USDT. You can often buy it directly; on some platforms you buy another asset first and convert it.
• Check the final amount after fees before you confirm. Card purchases and "instant buy" buttons can cost more than a bank transfer, so compare the total, not just the headline price.

Withdrawing USDT to donate or send

Buying the USDT is half the job. To give it, you withdraw it from the exchange to the recipient's address:

• Copy the address from the recipient's own website. For us, pick USDT and your network (Tron, Ethereum or Solana) on the donate page to get a one-time address.
• On the withdrawal screen, choose the same network the address is listed under. A T… address takes TRC-20; a 0x address listed as Ethereum takes ERC-20 on Ethereum, not another network that uses 0x addresses.
• Look at the withdrawal fee for each network the exchange offers. It can differ a lot between networks.
• For a larger amount, send a small test first and check it arrives.
• Keep the transaction ID.

Scams and risks when buying USDT

Most losses happen before the USDT ever reaches a legitimate recipient. Watch for:

• Peer-to-peer (P2P) sellers outside a platform's own protected process. Scams include fake payment confirmations, sellers who take your money and don't release the USDT, and requests to move the conversation to a messaging app. If you use P2P at all, stay inside the platform's escrow and never release or pay outside it.
• Anyone who tells you to buy crypto and send it to them. The US Federal Trade Commission warns that only scammers demand payment in cryptocurrency, and that impersonators sometimes walk victims through converting cash at crypto ATMs to send to wallets the scammers control.
• Fake apps and websites that copy real exchanges. Download apps from the official store listing and type the exchange's web address yourself.
• Promises of profit. The FTC says only scammers guarantee big returns.

Protections and local rules

Crypto doesn't come with the protections of a card payment or bank transfer. The FTC notes that crypto payments typically aren't reversible and don't carry the legal protections that credit and debit cards do. In the UK, the Financial Conduct Authority says crypto is largely unregulated and that you are highly unlikely to be covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if something goes wrong.

Rules on buying, holding and giving crypto differ between countries, and so does the tax treatment. This page isn't legal or tax advice; check your own regulator's guidance or ask a qualified adviser if you're unsure. For checks to run on any appeal before you give, see how to donate to Gaza safely.