USDT Card Glossary
Ten core terms for understanding USDT virtual cards. Full 30-term glossary in Simplified Chinese at /glossary.
- USDT (Tether)
- The 1:1 USD-pegged stablecoin issued by Tether Limited.
- KYC (Know Your Customer)
- Identity verification process required by financial regulators at account opening.
- TRC20
- The token standard on the Tron blockchain used for ~60% of USDT in circulation.
- ERC20
- The Ethereum token standard. ~28% of USDT lives on ERC20.
- MiCA (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation)
- EU's comprehensive crypto-asset regulation framework, in force June 2024.
- FATF Travel Rule
- FATF Recommendation 16 requiring VASPs to transmit originator + beneficiary info.
- Topup fee
- The percentage fee charged when you move USDT onto the card.
- FX spread / per-transaction fee
- The percentage taken on each card transaction.
- Self-custody wallet
- A wallet where the user holds the private keys, not a third party.
- VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider)
- FATF's defined category for crypto businesses subject to AML licensing.
USDT is the largest stablecoin by circulation (~$118B Q1 2026). Each USDT is claimed to be backed by reserves audited quarterly by BDO Italia, primarily US short-term Treasuries (~80% of reserves). USDT is the core settlement asset for USDT virtual cards — users deposit USDT, the issuer converts it to fiat for spending.
中文版词条 →KYC stems from anti-money-laundering (AML) regulation. For USDT cards there are three KYC tiers: (1) Full KYC — passport + address proof + video liveness, 1-3 days review (Crypto.com Visa, Wirex top tier); (2) Basic KYC — phone + email + simple identity check, 5-10 min (MPCard, Bybit, OKX); (3) No KYC — typically signals an unlicensed offshore issuer with significant compliance risk (see /en/risks/no-kyc).
中文版词条 →TRC20 is Tron's analog of Ethereum's ERC20. As of May 2026, TRC20-USDT holds ~60% market share. Advantages: low fees ($1-2 per transfer outside congestion) and fast confirmation (~3 seconds). Drawbacks: Tron network sometimes congests, and node decentralization is lower than Ethereum. Most USDT cards support TRC20 as the primary deposit rail.
中文版词条 →ERC20 is the original and most widely-recognized token standard. Institutional and compliance-sensitive flows prefer ERC20-USDT because Ethereum offers the highest decentralization. Drawback: gas fees range $3-15 per transfer in normal conditions and can spike past $30 during congestion. Most USDT cards support ERC20 deposits but small users are typically routed to TRC20.
中文版词条 →MiCA (EU Regulation 2023/1114) sets strict requirements on stablecoin issuers including EU member-state e-money licensing, 100% transparent auditable reserves, and user redemption guarantees. Tether has not obtained a MiCA license — as a result, several EU exchanges (Binance EU, Coinbase EU) have delisted USDT spot pairs. USDT-card issuance to EU residents is constrained as a result.
中文版词条 →The Travel Rule applies to virtual-asset transfers ≥$1,000 (FATF's 2025 Targeted Update). VASPs (Virtual Asset Service Providers) must collect and transmit originator and beneficiary information. As of mid-2025, 73% of 117 surveyed jurisdictions had passed implementing legislation. Licensed USDT-card issuers comply at deposit time; unlicensed offshore issuers do not.
中文版词条 →Separate from per-transaction fees. Industry baseline: MPCard 0% (industry-unique), Bybit 0.65%, Wirex ~1%, RedotPay ~1.5%. Real total cost of using a card = topup fee + per-transaction fee, not just one. usdtcard.net's /calculator tool separates the two stages explicitly.
中文版词条 →For USDT cards, the per-transaction fee usually combines the issuer's markup over the Visa/Mastercard interbank rate with the USDT→USD conversion margin. Baseline: MPCard 0.60%, Bybit 0.65%, OKX 0.70%, Crypto.com 0.70%, Wirex 1.75%. For subscription-heavy users (ChatGPT, Claude, ads), per-transaction fee compounds and matters more than topup fee.
中文版词条 →MetaMask, Trust Wallet, and Ledger hardware wallets are self-custody. Some USDT cards (MetaMask Card, Ledger Crypto Life Card) use a self-custody model — funds stay in your wallet and are spent on-chain. This isolates issuer risk but every transaction triggers an on-chain operation and accumulates gas. Most USDT cards (MPCard, Bybit, Crypto.com) use a custodial model instead.
中文版词条 →VASPs include exchanges, custodial wallets, and card issuers. Multiple jurisdictions (Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, EU) require VASP-specific licenses. USDT card issuers hold the corresponding regime's license: Bybit holds Dubai VARA; Crypto.com holds Singapore MAS + Maltese VFAA; MPCard's Hong Kong subsidiary holds MSO (a different regime, not VASP but parallel).
中文版词条 →