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Ethereum USDC transfer notifications, delivered as webhooks

Get a signed webhook when an Ethereum address sends or receives USDC. Chainhook waits 12 blocks, about 2 minutes, then posts the transfer.

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USDC on Ethereum at a glance

The contract Chainhook watches, how amounts are scaled, and how long USDC takes to reach your endpoint.

Token
USD Coin (USDC)
Network
Ethereum
Issuer
Circle
Contract
0xa0b86991c6218b36c1d19d4a2e9eb0ce3606eb48
Decimals
6
Confirmations
12
Time to webhook
About 2 minutes

How USDC ERC-20 webhooks work

Detecting deposits yourself means running or renting a node, subscribing to new heads, filtering Transfer logs, handling reorgs, and backfilling after downtime. Chainhook does that for every block, waits 12 confirmations, and sends you one event per matching transfer.

  1. Register the address

    Create a webhook with network: "ethereum", type: "token" and the address you want to watch. The signing secret is returned once.

  2. Chainhook waits for confirmations

    Every Ethereum block is scanned. A matching USDC transfer is held until it is 12 blocks deep, about 2 minutes.

  3. Your endpoint gets a signed POST

    A transfer.detected event arrives with an X-Webhook-Signature header. Failed attempts are retried automatically, up to 3 attempts in total, waiting 1 minute, then 5 minutes between attempts.

POST /v1/webhooks

{
  "network": "ethereum",
  "type": "token",
  "direction": "in",
  "address": "0xb0b42ef4b52b23dcd2e4fc88906080517724611f",
  "webhook_url": "https://api.example.com/webhooks/chainhook"
}

Sample webhook payload

What your endpoint receives for an incoming USDC transfer on Ethereum. amount is already scaled by decimals; amount_raw is the on-chain integer.

USDC on Ethereum

POST /webhooks/chainhook HTTP/1.1
Host: api.example.com
Content-Type: application/json
User-Agent: chainhook/1.x
X-Webhook-Id: 01a0fbfd-4fe4-7a3c-8f21-6b9d0e4c7a15
X-Webhook-Signature: 7a12d02673420517279805cf8188a1a62c6f69706161ba5cf0a8ec91ea66b8e3

{
  "id": "01a0fbfd-4fe4-7a3c-8f21-6b9d0e4c7a15",
  "event": "transfer.detected",
  "created_at": "2026-10-02T09:41:17Z",
  "webhook_id": "01a0fbf2-fadc-7c3e-9b1a-4d6f2e8a5c71",
  "data": {
    "network": "ethereum",
    "direction": "in",
    "type": "token",
    "transaction_hash": "0xa0a1a9f7c819f2979191061c6dcf0f4d06233f2437ab6550187685ffee48a395",
    "transfer_index": 41,
    "block_number": 26239151,
    "block_hash": "0xcc0fb41b723264c8e79ce049203fb2b22d62dcee269753b25b1b7f57edcadc3b",
    "block_timestamp": "2026-10-02T09:41:05Z",
    "confirmations": 12,
    "from": "0xddb90d64602398318efec9fceec9f972dd270198",
    "to": "0xb0b42ef4b52b23dcd2e4fc88906080517724611f",
    "currency": "USDC",
    "amount": "2499.99",
    "amount_raw": "2499990000",
    "decimals": 6,
    "contract_address": "0xa0b86991c6218b36c1d19d4a2e9eb0ce3606eb48"
  }
}

Verify the signature

X-Webhook-Signature is a hex HMAC-SHA256 of the raw body, keyed with your webhook's secret. Reject any request where it doesn't match.

import crypto from 'node:crypto';
import express from 'express';

const app = express();

app.post(
  '/webhooks/chainhook',
  express.raw({ type: 'application/json' }),
  (req, res) => {
    const signature = req.get('X-Webhook-Signature') ?? '';
    const expected = crypto
      .createHmac('sha256', process.env.CHAINHOOK_SIGNING_SECRET)
      .update(req.body)
      .digest('hex');

    const valid =
      signature.length === expected.length &&
      crypto.timingSafeEqual(Buffer.from(signature), Buffer.from(expected));

    if (!valid) {
      return res.sendStatus(401);
    }

    const event = JSON.parse(req.body);
    // Skip event.id if you've already processed it.

    res.sendStatus(200);
  },
);

Crediting USDC deposits safely

Circle's native USDC

Chainhook watches 0xa0b86991c6218b36c1d19d4a2e9eb0ce3606eb48, the USDC Circle issues on Ethereum, with 6 decimals.

Same address, different contracts per chain

USDC has a different contract on every network. A deposit sent on Base or Arbitrum lands at the same 0x address but is only reported by a webhook on that network.

Blocklisted addresses

Circle can blocklist an address. Transfers involving it revert and produce no event.

Pay per detection

Start with 100 trial detections for 1 month and pay only for what you use. Paid plans add detections, webhooks, and per-detection overage.

  • Pay as you go

    $0/month

    Card required, no monthly fee

    • 100 trial detections for 1 month
    • 3 active webhooks
    • $0.001 per detection after the trial
    • Decoded transfers, delivered once confirmed
    Start for free

  • Starter

    $9/month

    or $90/year billed yearly

    • 25,000 detections a month
    • 25 active webhooks
    • $0.0006 per extra detection
    • Decoded transfers, delivered once confirmed
    Subscribe
  • Recommended

    Growth

    $29/month

    or $290/year billed yearly

    • 100,000 detections a month
    • 100 active webhooks
    • $0.0003 per extra detection
    • Decoded transfers, delivered once confirmed
    Subscribe

  • Scale

    $99/month

    or $990/year billed yearly

    • 400,000 detections a month
    • 200 active webhooks
    • $0.0002 per extra detection
    • Decoded transfers, delivered once confirmed
    Subscribe

Enterprise

Custom limits for teams that need more than 400,000 detections a month or more than 200 active webhooks. Contact us and we'll set up a plan around your volume.

Contact support

Prices in USD, plus applicable tax. Billed monthly or yearly, and paid allowances reset monthly. Cancel any time and keep your plan until the period ends.

Compare plans and estimate your bill

USDC on Ethereum questions

Can't find your answer? Contact support.

What is the USDC contract address on Ethereum?

0xa0b86991c6218b36c1d19d4a2e9eb0ce3606eb48, issued by Circle, with 6 decimals.

Can one webhook watch USDC and USDT together?

Yes. A token webhook reports every listed ERC-20 on the address. Use the currency field to tell them apart.

Is USDC on Base or Arbitrum detected by this webhook?

No. Create a webhook per network. See Base USDC and Arbitrum USDC.

Watch your first wallet

Create an account and start with 100 trial detections for 1 month.

Start for free