Wrapped USTC wallet

What is Wrapped USTC (USTC)?

USTC is the token formerly known as UST, the algorithmic dollar of the Terra chain. It held its value through a mint-and-burn link with LUNA rather than through reserves, and when that mechanism failed the link was switched off. The chain it lived on was renamed Terra Classic, the token became USTC, and what remains is an ordinary transferable token with no peg mechanism behind it. Treat anything written about it as a stablecoin, including category labels, as a description of what it used to be.

The wrapped versions on other chains add a second layer. Each one was minted by a bridge against USTC locked on Terra Classic, and the bridges that produced them have not all had the same fate - the original Terra bridge was discontinued, so some wrapped balances have no working route back to the native chain and exist only as tokens on the chain they are stranded on. Before planning anything with a wrapped USTC balance, establish which bridge issued the specific token you hold.

They are also not interchangeable with each other. Supported networks in Tangem (5): Ethereum, Solana, Polygon POS, Aurora, Fantom. Same ticker on every one of them, separate token on each, and a transfer goes out on exactly one network.

Tangem keeps these as distinct balances rather than adding them together, and names the network on the confirmation screen before the card signs anything. When an asset has this many near-identical copies, seeing them listed apart rather than merged is the reason to keep it in a wallet that works this way.