Do I need ETH, XLM or SOL to bridge?
On the source chain: yes
You sign the pay-in transaction yourself, so you need that chain's gas token to pay for it: ETH on Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum and Optimism, POL on Polygon, BNB on BNB Smart Chain, SOL on Solana, XLM on Stellar. The amount is the ordinary network fee for one transfer.
On the destination chain: usually no
The payout is executed and paid for by the router, so an empty destination wallet still receives funds. You only need the destination gas token once you want to spend or move what arrived.
The Stellar exception
Stellar requires an account to hold a minimum XLM balance to exist, and an additional increment for each trustline. This is a reserve, not a fee — it stays in the account. The consequence is real: a brand-new Stellar address with zero XLM cannot receive USDC at all, because the account does not yet exist and cannot hold the trustline.
- Fund the account with a small amount of XLM first.
- Add the USDC (or EURC) trustline.
- Then run the transfer.
Per-chain details are listed on supported chains.
FAQ
Do I need gas on the destination chain to receive?
Not to receive. The payout transaction is paid for by the router. You will need the destination gas token later, when you want to move those funds yourself.
Why does Stellar need XLM then?
XLM is not a fee problem on Stellar, it is an account-existence problem: an account must hold a small XLM base reserve to exist on the ledger at all, plus a further reserve per trustline.
