What is a gas fee?
A gas fee is the payment a blockchain charges to process and record a transaction, paid in the network's own coin — ETH on Ethereum, TRX on Tron. The sender always pays it, and it is entirely separate from any exchange fee or desk spread.
KEY FACTS
| What it is | Payment to a blockchain for processing a transaction |
|---|---|
| Paid in | The chain's native coin (ETH, TRX) |
| Who pays | The sender, from the sending wallet |
| ERC20 USDT send (Ethereum) | Floats with congestion — under a cent at September 2026 gas prices, tens of dollars at the May 2021 peak |
| TRC20 USDT send (Tron) | ≈US$1–7, mostly flat |
| Separate from | Desk spread (0.08–0.40% at Meridian OTC) |
Source: Ethereum and TRON developer documentation, network fee trackers, as of September 2026.
How does a gas fee work?
A gas fee works as metered payment for computation: every action on a blockchain is priced in "gas" units, and the fee equals gas used multiplied by the current gas price. A simple coin transfer uses a fixed amount of gas; a token transfer like USDT uses more.
On Ethereum the gas price is set by an auction for limited block space, so the fee floats with congestion — the same USDT send can cost a few dollars one day and several times more the next. The mechanics are documented on ethereum.org's gas pages.
Tron prices transfers differently, through a fixed resource model rather than an auction. That is why TRC20, the Tron standard most UAE USDT travels on, keeps its fees flat while Ethereum gas moves.
How do gas fees work in the UAE?
In the UAE, gas fees mostly means Tron fees: TRC20 is the default rail for USDT across the region, so the typical sender pays roughly US$1–7 in TRX per transfer, as of September 2026. ERC20 on Ethereum is accepted at every licensed desk too, but its floating fee makes it the expensive option for moving the same token.
Retail senders in the Gulf–Asia corridors adopted Tron first for its flat fees, and the region's desks and USDT liquidity followed. When a Dubai desk quotes you a deposit address, it will state the network in writing — TRC20 by default, ERC20 if you ask.
One practical detail catches first-time sellers: gas is paid in the native coin, not in USDT. A wallet holding only USDT on Tron cannot send until it also holds a few dirhams' worth of TRX.
Who pays the gas fee when you sell USDT?
The seller pays the gas fee when selling USDT: the network fee leaves your own wallet in TRX or ETH the moment you send, and it never touches the settlement amount. The desk's written quote is all-in, and the agreed AED or USD reaches your bank account in full. Which network costs less to send on is covered in our TRC20 vs ERC20 fee comparison.
This is the only cost outside the quote when you sell USDT through a licensed desk in Dubai — a few dollars to the network, with the spread fixed before anything moves. A licensed desk also settles only to an account in your own name, so the fee trail and the bank trail both point to you.
The chain is rarely the slow part of a sale. Account approval takes one business day, so open the account before you need it — the document list is in our onboarding section.
What does a gas fee cost on a real sale?
On a settlement-sized sale the gas fee is a rounding error next to the desk spread. The worked example below uses Meridian's published pricing bands, as of September 2026.
| Cost line | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Desk spread (0.08% band) | 200 USDT ≈ AED 735 | Fixed in the written quote |
| TRC20 gas fee | ≈US$1–7, paid in TRX | Paid by you, to the Tron network |
| ERC20 gas fee (if sent on Ethereum) | Floats with congestion, paid in ETH | Can run several times the TRC20 cost |
On this ticket the TRC20 gas fee is under 0.003% of the trade — the spread is the only cost that matters, and it is agreed before you send anything.
The full bands — 0.08% to 0.40% by ticket size — are published in our pricing section, with a calculator that converts the band into money at your size.
FAQ
Who pays the gas fee when selling USDT at an OTC desk?
The seller pays the network fee from their own wallet, in the chain's native coin. It is never deducted from your settlement: the desk's written quote is all-in, and the agreed AED or USD amount reaches your bank account in full.
Why are TRC20 gas fees cheaper than ERC20?
Tron prices transfers through a fixed resource model — bandwidth and energy — so a USDT send stays around US$1–7. Ethereum auctions limited block space, so the same send floats with congestion and can cost several times more.
Do I need ETH or TRX in my wallet to send USDT?
Yes. Gas is always paid in the network's native coin: ETH for an ERC20 transfer, TRX for TRC20. Keep a small balance of the native coin in the sending wallet, or the transfer will not go through.
Do gas fees matter on a large USDT sale?
Hardly. A TRC20 fee of a few dollars is under 0.01% of a 100,000 USDT ticket. The cost that matters at size is the desk spread, which a licensed desk fixes in the written quote before you send anything.
Sell USDT without watching the gas meter
Meridian OTC is a VARA-licensed Broker-Dealer in Dubai. Send TRC20 or ERC20 — the written quote is all-in, spread 0.08–0.40% by size, and AED reaches your own bank account the same business day by UAEFTS.
SOURCES
- ethereum.org — gas and fees documentation, accessed 11 September 2026.
- TRON developer documentation — bandwidth and energy resource model, accessed 11 September 2026.
- Etherscan — Ethereum gas tracker, accessed 11 September 2026.
- Meridian OTC published pricing bands and onboarding requirements — Meridian OTC published pricing bands, September 2026.
- GasFeesNow — live USDT transfer cost by chain (Ethereum ERC-20: US$0.0046 on 14 September 2026), accessed 14 September 2026.
- CoinLedger — Ethereum transaction fees and gas prices 2020–2025 (peak average fee US$53.16 on 10 May 2021), accessed 14 September 2026.
This guide is informational and is not legal, tax or investment advice, nor an invitation to buy or sell any virtual asset. Rules and figures are as of September 2026 — re-check the sources before acting. Virtual assets may lose their value in full or in part and are subject to extreme volatility.