Do I need a US credit card to use Router One?

No. Top up with USDT or USDC on any of six chains (Tron, BSC, Ethereum, Polygon, Base, Arbitrum). The resulting USD wallet works against every model on /models.

Who is crypto billing for?

Crypto billing is for global teams and developers that prefer stablecoin treasury workflows or non-card billing. Enterprise contracts, invoicing, abuse reviews, or legal requirements may require additional information.

Which chain is cheapest for a $50 top-up?

Tron (TRC-20) and BSC (BEP-20) have the cheapest gas — typically well under $1 per transaction. Ethereum mainnet only makes sense for top-ups over $500 where the gas is amortized.

What happens if I send the wrong token or wrong chain?

Funds sent on a chain Router One does not list, or in a token not supported on that chain, may be unrecoverable. Always match the token and network shown on the deposit page exactly. This is a universal property of any on-chain deposit, not a Router One restriction.

Can I withdraw my wallet balance back to crypto?

Wallet balance is non-refundable and cannot be withdrawn. Top up only what you plan to consume through API usage. Wallet balance never expires.

Is my deposit address shared with anyone?

Your deposit address is unique to your account. The transaction itself is on-chain and publicly visible by nature of how blockchains work; Router One does not share or sell wallet associations.

Pay for LLM APIs with crypto.

Stablecoin top-ups. No bank card required.

Router One accepts USDT and USDC on six networks. Top up, get a wallet balance in USD, and call any of 25+ LLM models through an OpenAI-compatible endpoint — built for developers whose local card flow is unreliable but whose stablecoin wallet already works.

Last updated: 2026-05-16

Supported networks

USDT and USDC on six chains. Pick the network that matches your wallet — Router One credits your balance in USD regardless of which chain you used.

Network	Tokens	Typical confirmation	Gas economics
Tron (TRC-20)	USDT, USDC	~30s	Cheapest — pick for small top-ups
BSC (BEP-20)	USDT, USDC	~5s	Very cheap
Polygon	USDT, USDC	~5s	Very cheap
Base	USDC	~3s	Cheap
Arbitrum	USDT, USDC	~1s	Cheap
Ethereum (ERC-20)	USDT, USDC	~30s–3min	Most expensive — use only for top-ups over $500

Billing scope and compliance

Account records: For standard self-serve accounts: email (for receipts and password reset) and the payment-chain address you send from (publicly visible by nature of any on-chain transaction).
Treasury workflow: Crypto top-ups are built for teams that prefer stablecoin treasury workflows or non-card billing. Enterprise contracts, invoicing, abuse reviews, or legal requirements may require additional information.
Compliance boundary: A crypto top-up is not permission to bypass laws, sanctions, export controls, or upstream model-provider terms. You are responsible for using the service lawfully in your jurisdiction.

How the wallet works

Top up: From your dashboard, pick a network. Scan the QR or paste the deposit address. Send USDT or USDC from your wallet. Tron and BSC are cheapest on gas; Ethereum mainnet is slowest and most expensive.
Settle: Tron, BSC, Polygon, Base, Arbitrum settle in seconds. Ethereum mainnet can take a few minutes. Once the network confirms, your balance updates.
Wallet currency: Accepted stablecoin deposits are credited into a USD wallet balance at receipt time according to the checkout terms shown before payment. After credit, your balance is plain USD.
Spend: Every API call deducts the per-model rate from your USD wallet at posted rates on /models. The same rate applies regardless of whether you topped up in RMB, USD, or stablecoin.

Who actually uses this

Developer in Istanbul: Local bank cards are unreliable for USD API credits. Tops up Router One with USDT on BSC and calls GPT-5.5 + Claude Opus 4.7 through one endpoint.
Developer in Buenos Aires: Peso volatility makes prepaid USD budgeting painful. Pays Router One in USDC pay-as-you-go from a Polygon wallet and runs market-data analysis jobs on Claude Sonnet 4.6.
Developer in Karachi: Cross-border card approvals are inconsistent for developer tools. Uses USDT on Tron via a local OTC desk and ships a customer support bot on Gemini 3.1 Pro.

Minimums and fees

Minimum top-up: Crypto top-ups start at the equivalent of 50 USDT/USDC. WeChat Pay, Alipay, and Stripe top-ups start at $5 USD equivalent.
Network fee: Network gas is paid by you to the chain. Any Router One or channel-side fees, if applicable, are shown before checkout. Pick Tron or BSC for small top-ups to keep gas low.
Router One markup: API calls deduct from your USD wallet at the posted model rates. Pricing methodology and the revenue model are documented on /pricing-methodology.

Why Router One specifically

vs OpenAI / Anthropic direct: Direct provider billing may require a supported card or USD billing setup. Stablecoin top-ups are not part of their standard self-serve API billing flows.
vs OpenRouter: OpenRouter supports cards, crypto, bank transfers, and enterprise invoicing. Router One's distinction is China-friendly routing plus WeChat Pay, Alipay, and six-chain USDT/USDC top-ups in the same gateway.
vs informal API resellers: Cheap relay stations can obscure the actual model or provider serving a call. Router One publishes per-request traces showing the upstream provider and rate that served each call — see /routing-methodology and /security.

FAQ

Do I need a US credit card to use Router One?: No. Top up with USDT or USDC on any of six chains (Tron, BSC, Ethereum, Polygon, Base, Arbitrum). The resulting USD wallet works against every model on /models.
Who is crypto billing for?: Crypto billing is for global teams and developers that prefer stablecoin treasury workflows or non-card billing. Enterprise contracts, invoicing, abuse reviews, or legal requirements may require additional information.
Which chain is cheapest for a $50 top-up?: Tron (TRC-20) and BSC (BEP-20) have the cheapest gas — typically well under $1 per transaction. Ethereum mainnet only makes sense for top-ups over $500 where the gas is amortized.
What happens if I send the wrong token or wrong chain?: Funds sent on a chain Router One does not list, or in a token not supported on that chain, may be unrecoverable. Always match the token and network shown on the deposit page exactly. This is a universal property of any on-chain deposit, not a Router One restriction.
Can I withdraw my wallet balance back to crypto?: Wallet balance is non-refundable and cannot be withdrawn. Top up only what you plan to consume through API usage. Wallet balance never expires.
Is my deposit address shared with anyone?: Your deposit address is unique to your account. The transaction itself is on-chain and publicly visible by nature of how blockchains work; Router One does not share or sell wallet associations.