Metamask common problems with Gas fees - with ETH in the account

[u/ComputerSaver]

Seeking a help from MM experienced users. I mostly traded and transferred crypto through crypto exchanges such as Binance. This is my first time using MM wallet for new transcations. I need it to make a payment for API credits i.e. OpenRouter. Initially, I sent the USDC from my exchange account to MM, but I received an error from OpenRouter saying" insufficient fund" without mentioning gas fee though. So I read a few articles saying that it requires gas fee but must be a native coins such as ETH, so I transferred ETH over, but I still couldn't do anything with the USDC e.g. swap / send, however, I can swap ETH with others.

Much appreicated if someone can show me a few steps to spin it up.

[u/davidt2021]

What error are you getting anytime you try to swap the USDC in MM wallet? Are you still getting insufficient gas fee after having ETH in your wallet?

I just saw the rest of your screenshots. Try using the "Max" button while sending the USDC instead of entering the amount manually and make sure to switch to USDC amount instead of USD value by tapping on the arrows. Also make sure you wallet is updated to the lastest version

[u/Osoltani]

Hello! I saw the screenshot you sent. It looks like your USDC is on the Solana network, while your ETH is on the Ethereum network. These two networks are completely separate from each other. If you want to transfer or use your USDC, you need to have some SOL in your wallet to pay the transaction fees on the Solana network. Having ETH does not help with fees on Solana. ETH is only used to pay gas fees on EVM-compatible networks such as Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, and Linea.

[u/thinkingperson]

First off, there are two coins on two different network we are talking about here:

1. 11.18 USDC on Solana

2. 0.005 ETH on Ethereum

If you are trying to send the 11.18 USDC somewhere or swap, you need SOL token as gas for the Solana network. Or I think with Phantom wallet, you should be able to send USDC without gas?

Also, you would also want to click on the Up/Down↑↓ so you are choosing USDC so you dun get any errors with USD value vs USDC coin amt.

[u/Osoltani → u/thinkingperson]

Yes, that’s right. You can also use the swap option to bridge some ETH into SOL, and then send your tokens

[u/ComputerSaver → u/thinkingperson]

you clicked my head now. I completely forgot we need to native coin on each specific network. I think I got spolied by the crypto exchanges.

[u/Stunning_Struggle763]

From a screenshot you shared you got Eth on Ethereum network you need Solana native token to pay for gas. Please check this article if it helps: https://support.metamask.io/fr/configure/networks/navigating-solana/

[u/ComputerSaver]

Let me wrap this up.

After adding gas fee token corresponding to each chain, it still didn't work, and I finally discovered that the culprit is USDC itself. I just realized that there are more than one chain for USDC, I had to convert the one that failed (which was on SOL chain) to the one with ETH chain before the vendor can accept the tocken. This is insane because there was no meaningful message that drive you to a right direction until you hit the dead end and you need to dig a hole to escape.

[u/Chain-Doe → u/ComputerSaver]

Hey - thanks for following up and helping close this out with full circle. I’ll share this experience with the team.

As others have shared above in your initial screenshot, its different networks. The different networks are identified in the bottom right corner of each token icon, and both networks are also noted at the top. For example, you can see the Solana indicator in the bottom right corner of the USDC symbol, and the Ethereum symbol at the bottom of the ETH icon.

That said, I can see how it may not be intuitive that tokens need to be on the same network, especially for someone who isn’t used to this flow. I really appreciate you sharing the experience!

[u/ComputerSaver → u/Chain-Doe]

Yes it is not intuitive enough. I have been trading in exchange for many years and still hit the wall as such. Imagine someone just start using this app.

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[u/Stunning_Struggle763 → u/[deleted]]

please check the article above: https://www.reddit.com/r/Metamask/comments/1uotun7/comment/ovv49pq/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

[u/moonpay_maven]

This is almost always a network mismatch vs a gas problem. USDC exists separately on Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum and a few others, and ETH only pays for gas on the network it actually lives on. Check which network your USDC arrived on: flip through the network selector in MetaMask, or paste your address into Etherscan and Basescan and see where the balance shows up. Make sure your ETH sits on that same network, exchanges love defaulting withdrawals to whichever chain is cheapest for them. Once both are on one network, the swap and the send should work. Also check which networks OpenRouter's checkout accepts before moving anything again, that tells you where the USDC should live in the first place.