Stellar trustlines and memos explained

Trustlines

Stellar accounts do not hold arbitrary assets by default. To receive USDC you first create a trustline: a declaration that your account accepts USDC from Circle's issuing account. This is a one-time action per asset, done in your wallet, and it is what makes the issuer check meaningful — an asset called USDC from a different issuer is a different asset and needs its own trustline.

• Each trustline requires an additional XLM base reserve.
• The reserve is locked while the trustline exists and is released if you remove it.
• A payout to an account with no trustline for the asset cannot be delivered.

Memos

A memo is a short field attached to a Stellar payment. Exchanges and custodians pool many customers into one Stellar account and use the memo to work out whose deposit it is. Send without the required memo and the funds arrive at the exchange but are not credited to you — recovery depends entirely on their support process.

If you cannot attach a memo, route to your own account first. See bridging to an exchange deposit address.

The XLM reserve

Stellar charges a minimum balance per account and per trustline. It is not a fee to ROZO or to anyone else — it is the ledger's anti-spam mechanism, and it stays in your account. It does mean a fresh, unfunded Stellar address cannot be used as a destination.

FAQ