How to Set Up a Wallet to Receive USDC, If You've Never Had One
A client wants to pay you in USDC and you have never had a crypto wallet. You need an address, the right network and a backup. Here is each one in plain words.
To receive USDC you need a wallet, and from it two things: an address and a network. The address is where the client sends the money. The network is the blockchain they send it on, and it has to match the address. If you sign up with Rampy, a wallet is created for you when you first sign in, with an address for Ethereum networks and another for Solana. Copy the one you need from the Wallet page and give it to the client with the network's name. Then back the wallet up, before the amounts get large.
What a wallet address is
A wallet address is a long string of letters and numbers, a little like an account number. You can share it freely. Anyone who has it can send you money, and nobody can take money out with it.
Behind the address is a private key. Whoever holds the key controls the money. With most wallets the key is also written as a recovery phrase, a list of ordinary words. The address is for sharing. The phrase and the key are for nobody.
The wallet Rampy gives you
When you sign in with your email, Rampy creates a wallet for you on Ethereum networks and on Solana. It is self-custodial: it is yours, not an account we keep for you. Rampy cannot see its key, cannot move money out of it and cannot freeze it. Our wallet provider, Privy, keeps the key in a place we cannot read.
Because the wallet is yours, you can take it elsewhere. Back it up and you can import the recovery phrase, or the private key, into a wallet app of your choice, such as MetaMask, Phantom, Trust Wallet or Coinbase Wallet. The app then shows the same wallet and the same balance. These are examples, not recommendations. Any wallet app that lets you add an existing wallet will do.
Sources: Non-custodial vs custodial: what it means for your money
Which network to give the client
USDC exists on several networks. USDC on Base and USDC on Solana are the same coin in two different places, and they are not interchangeable. The rule is simple. Use the network the client already sends on, and give them the address for that network.
| Your Rampy wallet address | Works for |
|---|---|
| The Ethereum-networks address | Ethereum, Base, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism, Avalanche C-Chain |
| The Solana address | Solana |
The Ethereum-networks address is one address on all of those networks. That is convenient, and it is also why the network name has to go with it. Rampy works with 9 networks in all, but the wallet it gives you has addresses on these. If you are free to choose, Base or Solana usually cost the sender a fraction of a cent. Ethereum itself costs more.
Send a small test first
Before the first real payment, ask the client to send a small amount, a few dollars of USDC. Check it arrives on your Wallet page, then ask for the rest. It usually takes under a minute. It costs the client one more network fee, which is far cheaper than a mistake.
The sender pays the network fee, in the network's own coin. You pay nothing to receive. One Solana exception: the first time an address receives a coin, opening it for that coin costs the sending wallet a small amount of SOL, once.
Sources: I sent crypto on the wrong network. Is it gone?
Back it up early
Rampy never holds your key, so we cannot recover a lost wallet. Your backup and your sign-in are the only ways back in. Without a backup, losing access to your email can mean losing the wallet.
The wallet setup has two steps, and both are on your Wallet page under Set up your wallet.
- Turn on two-step approval. Choose a passkey or an authenticator app. From then on every signature and every transaction asks for it. Someone who gets into your email still cannot move your money.
- Back up your wallet. Press Back up my wallet. Privy shows your recovery phrase and private key on a page Rampy cannot read. Import either into a wallet app, or write it on paper and keep it offline.
You do not need either to receive. Being paid into your wallet and using deposit accounts both work without them. Selling and swapping wait until both are done, because those are the orders that take money out of your wallet. Do the backup on the first day anyway. It is your way back in.
What you share, and what you never share
| Safe to share | Never share |
|---|---|
| Your wallet address | Your recovery phrase |
| The network name | Your private key |
| A transaction link from an explorer, as proof of payment | A sign-in code from your email |
Rampy will never ask for your phrase or your key. Not by email, chat or phone, and nobody legitimate ever will. Anyone who asks for either, or for a sign-in code, is trying to take your money. Neither the phrase nor the key can be changed or cancelled. If you think someone has seen one, move your money to a new wallet straight away.
Type the phrase or key into a wallet app only, on a device you trust. Never into a website, a chat or a form.
In short
- Sign in and open the Wallet page.
- Copy the address for the network your client sends on. Send them the address and the network name together.
- Ask for a small test payment and check it arrives.
- Turn on two-step approval and back up the wallet.
- Keep the phrase and key to yourself, for good.
How the Rampy wallet works, how to back it up, and how to open it in a wallet app of your own.
Read the wallet guideFrequently asked
Do I need to verify my identity to receive USDC in my wallet?
Your wallet is created when you first sign in, and a USDC payment to its address arrives on the blockchain like any other. Verification is needed for the things Rampy does with banks, such as selling for your currency or opening bank details of your own.
Can I use the same address for every network?
Your Ethereum-networks address is the same on Ethereum, Base, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism and Avalanche. Solana has its own address. Always send the network name with the address, so the client sends on the one you expect.
What if I lose my recovery phrase?
Back it up from the Wallet page while you can still sign in, and keep the backup somewhere safe. If you lose both your sign-in and your backup, nobody can restore the wallet, including us. That is the trade for us not being able to touch your money.
Can I move my USDC to a different wallet later?
Yes. Use Send on the Wallet page, or open the wallet in the app you imported it into and send from there. Sends made from another wallet app pay their own network fee, so keep a little ETH or SOL in the wallet for it.