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Deposits

All deposits must be made in USDT0 on the Ink network, but users need only to have USDT on a supported blockchain. Thanks to USDT's omni-channel properties, we've integrated the bridging process directly into the deposit flow so users don't have to leave the platform to obtain the required collateral.

Before you continue:

Confirm you have the following before you attempt to deposit:

How to Deposit USDT

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Deposit USDT:

First time depositing? Start here instead.

  1. Log in to your Rails account on desktop.

  2. Click Deposit in the top right corner of your Rails account.

  1. If your wallet is not connected, you will be asked to connect your Ink supported wallet.

  1. Use the drop-down to show any available USDT balance, and select the network you wish to deposit from. You'll need to have USDT for your deposit, as well as ETH for gas fees.

  1. Enter the Amount of USDT you wish to deposit and click Deposit (if depositing from Ink) or Bridge and Deposit (if depositing from any other network).

Deposits from Ink are the most efficient and cost effective, learn why here. If you are depositing from Ink, go to Step 8.

  1. Deposits from networks other than Ink will require you to first authorize the bridging transaction in step 7. Your wallet may ask you to confirm switching to the Ink network here.

  2. Approve the spending cap limit for the bridging transaction if prompted in your wallet.

  1. Approve the bridging transaction as directed in your wallet.

Bridging can take up to 15 minutes depending on which network you are bridging from. You are able to close the deposit screen while bridging is in progress.

  1. You will see Bridging in Progress while the transaction is pending. Click Ready to Deposit when the transaction is completed.

  1. Click Deposit.

  1. Approve the spending cap for the deposit transaction if prompted in your wallet.

  1. Approve the deposit transaction as directed in your wallet to finalize the deposit request.

The transaction may take up to 1 minute to post on the blockchain, during which time you'll see a pending network confirmation status.

If you don't reach the success screen below after a few minutes, please check out our troubleshooting tips.

To view your deposit history, check out the Transfers tab in the Portfolio page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are deposits restricted to USDT/USDT0?

Through our partnership with Kraken, we've chosen to leverage USDT0 on Ink for deposits. Ink is Kraken's own Layer 2 blockchain network, and USDT0 is the omnichain deployment of Tether's USDT token.

This approach offers several key advantages to users:

  • Layer 2 networks offer faster and cheaper transactions.

  • USDT is the most widely accepted stablecoin in the world and has a cross-chain transfer service which makes it easy, fast and low cost to bridge other USDT tokens to the Ink network.

  • Leveraging a single token and single network for deposits enables clearer and more transparent tracking and auditing of funds.

Why does my wallet ask me to confirm switching to Ink

Ink is a new Layer 2 blockchain developed by the team at Kraken. Since it’s still early in its rollout, some wallets—like Coinbase Wallet—may show a warning when connecting or switching to the Ink network. This is a standard precaution many wallets take with newer or less widely recognized networks. Despite the warning, Ink is a legitimate network backed by a trusted exchange, and the message should become less common as broader wallet support is rolled out.

What is a spending cap?

The spending cap is the maximum amount of USDT that you authorize Rails to access from your wallet for deposit transactions. It's a standard part of the transaction approval process for most wallets, which help users set limits for future deposits.

Rails will automatically set your spending cap to unlimited during your first deposit to expedite future deposits, but you can change this limit during that step (Step 5 in How to Deposit USDT).

An unlimited spending cap doesn’t give Rails direct access to your tokens. You must initiate each deposit, and the cap only controls when your wallet asks for additional approvals.

To edit your spending cap, click on the pencil icon to edit your spending cap, enter your preferred spending cap and click Save as shown below.

What are gas and network costs?

Rails does not charge any fees for deposits, but there are some gas and network costs associated with processing transactions on the blockchain which are passed on to end users.

Deposit USDT directly from the Ink network to avoid gas and network fees associated with bridging.

Network Cost
What is it?

Gas on Destination (Ink)

This in itself is not actually a fee, but a transfer of ETH from the source network (where you're depositing from) to Ink. If you already have ETH on Ink, this will be 0.

Bridging Cost

This covers the messaging costs (i.e. delivery and gas costs) for moving tokens between blockchain networks (e.g. Ethereum to Ink).

Estimated Source Gas

This is the cost of gas charged by the network you're depositing from to initiate the transaction.

What is bridging and why is it needed?

Bridging is the process of moving assets (like USDT) or data between blockchains. Since networks like Ethereum and Ink operate independently and can’t communicate directly, a bridge enables them to transfer tokens or information across chains.

To deposit on Rails, you need USDT0 on Ink. If you hold USDT on another network, it must first be bridged to Ink. We’ve built a seamless bridging experience for supported networks directly into the platform. If your network isn’t supported, you’re welcome to use an external bridge of your choice.

Bridging USDT from Layer 2 networks to Ink is the most efficient with speed and fees. Bridging from busy Layer 1 networks like ETH Mainnet costs more and takes longer to process.

What networks are supported for deposits?

Blockchain networks using LayerZero's OFT (omnichain Fungible Token) standard are supported. This list will grow as support for this new technology expands:

Deposits from Layer 2 networks will have lower gas and network fees. If you need to deposit from popular Layer 1 networks like Ethereum, you can avoid high fees by waiting until network congestion is lower.

If you don't already have USDT on one of these networks, you will need to bridge and/or swap existing tokens to one of these networks.

Supported Layer 1 Networks
Supported Layer 2 Networks

Ethereum

Arbitrum

Berachain

Optimisim

Sei

Ink

Flare

Unichain

Corn

What is a Layer 1 vs Layer 2 network?

Layer 1 is the main blockchain network, like Ethereum or Bitcoin, where transactions and data are stored directly on the chain. Layer 1 is secure and decentralized but can be slower and more expensive as more people use it.

Layer 2 is built on top of Layer 1 to make things faster and cheaper. It processes transactions off the main chain and then sends a summary back to Layer 1. This helps reduce fees and speeds up transactions while still using the security of the main blockchain.

These benefits are why deposits and withdrawals leverage USDT0 on Ink, a Layer 2 blockchain.

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