Supported chains
Twelve EVM-compatible blockchain networks for USDC payments.
Overview
JoPay supports USDC transfers on twelve EVM-compatible blockchain networks. Each chain offers different trade-offs between transaction cost, speed, and security. Partners select a default chain when configuring their platform, and merchants can accept payments on any supported chain.
Non-EVM chains (Solana, Tron, Aptos) are not supported. Wallet address formats do not overlap with EVM, so misdirected transfers from multi-chain wallets are impossible in practice.
Chain comparison
Chains are listed in rough order of JoPay payment volume. The first four handle the vast majority of everyday payments; chains further down the list are supported for compatibility when a customer chooses to send from that network.
| Chain | Type | Chain ID | Gas fees | Verification | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polygon | Sidechain | 137 | < $0.01 | ~2 seconds | Default for most merchants. Lowest fees, fast finality. |
| Base | L2 (Optimistic) | 8453 | < $0.01 | ~2 seconds | Coinbase ecosystem. Low fees, growing adoption. |
| Arbitrum One | L2 (Optimistic) | 42161 | < $0.05 | ~1 second | Ethereum L2 with high throughput and low fees. |
| Optimism | L2 (Optimistic) | 10 | < $0.05 | ~2 seconds | Ethereum L2 with low fees and strong ecosystem. |
| Ethereum | L1 (Mainnet) | 1 | $1–$20+ | ~12 seconds | High-value transfers. Maximum network security. |
| Avalanche | L1 (C-Chain) | 43114 | < $0.05 | ~2 seconds | Fast-finality L1 with its own ecosystem. |
| Gnosis | L1 (sidechain) | 100 | < $0.01 | ~5 seconds | xDai ecosystem. Community-run, low fees. |
| BSC | L1 (sidechain) | 56 | < $0.10 | ~3 seconds | BNB Smart Chain. Large ecosystem, low fees. |
| Arbitrum Nova | L2 (AnyTrust) | 42170 | < $0.01 | ~1 second | High-throughput Arbitrum variant for gaming & social. |
| Monad | L1 | 143 | Varies | ~1 second | High-throughput EVM-compatible L1. |
| Soneium | L2 (Optimistic) | 1868 | < $0.01 | ~2 seconds | Sony-backed L2 on OP Stack. |
| Katana | L2 | 747474 | Varies | ~2 seconds | Newer network supported for compatibility. |
Choosing a chain
The right chain depends on your use case:
- Everyday payments (POS, invoices): Use Polygon or Base. Gas fees are negligible, and transactions confirm in seconds.
- High-value transfers: Consider Ethereum mainnet for maximum security. The higher gas fee is insignificant relative to large payment amounts.
- Developer ecosystems: If your users are already active on Base (Coinbase), Optimism, or Arbitrum, match their preferred chain to reduce friction.
L1 vs L2 explained
L1 (Layer 1) refers to the Ethereum mainnet — the base blockchain where all transactions are recorded directly. It offers the highest security but also the highest fees.
L2 (Layer 2) networks like Base, Optimism, and Arbitrum run on top of Ethereum. They batch many transactions together and post a summary to Ethereum, which dramatically reduces per-transaction cost while inheriting Ethereum's security guarantees.
Polygon is technically a sidechain with its own consensus mechanism, but it functions similarly to an L2 for practical purposes — low fees, fast verification, and bridging to Ethereum.
Block explorers
Each chain has a public block explorer where you can look up any transaction by its hash. JoPay includes explorer links in payment receipts and the merchant dashboard so you can verify any transfer on-chain.
| Chain | Explorer URL | Transaction lookup |
|---|---|---|
| Polygon | polygonscan.com | polygonscan.com/tx/0x... |
| Base | basescan.org | basescan.org/tx/0x... |
| Arbitrum One | arbiscan.io | arbiscan.io/tx/0x... |
| Optimism | optimistic.etherscan.io | optimistic.etherscan.io/tx/0x... |
| Ethereum | etherscan.io | etherscan.io/tx/0x... |
| Avalanche | snowtrace.io | snowtrace.io/tx/0x... |
| Gnosis | gnosisscan.io | gnosisscan.io/tx/0x... |
| BSC | bscscan.com | bscscan.com/tx/0x... |
| Arbitrum Nova | nova.arbiscan.io | nova.arbiscan.io/tx/0x... |
Monad, Soneium, and Katana have their own public explorers; JoPay includes the correct explorer link automatically on receipts and in the merchant dashboard when a payment lands on one of those chains.
Multi-chain payments
A single merchant can receive payments on any supported chain. The customer selects their preferred chain on the payment page. JoPay's verification engine (Trails) monitors all supported chains simultaneously to detect and verify incoming transfers.
Note that USDC received on one chain stays on that chain. If a merchant receives USDC on Polygon and wants to move it to Ethereum, they would need to bridge the asset separately. JoPay does not perform cross-chain bridging.