Cross-chain · Base → Ethereum

Swap USDC from Base to DAI on Ethereum

Swap USDC from Base to DAI on Ethereum. You spend Circle USDC on Base and you take delivery of Maker DAI on Ethereum.

The token that leaves is Circle USDC at 0x833589fCD6eDb6E08f4c7C32D4f71b54bdA02913. Confirm it on Basescan. Base is chain 8453, and you pay ETH there because Base is an L2, not a separate gas coin. What arrives is Maker's DAI at 0x6B175474E89094C44Da98b954EedeAC495271d0F on Etherscan. Ethereum is chain 1 and a block is about 12 seconds. DAI uses 18 decimals. USDC uses 6. The native-gas placeholder 0xEeeeeEeeeEeEeeEeEeEeeEEEeeeeEeeeeeeeEEeE is not DAI and not USDC.

Diagram for Swap USDC from Base to DAI on Ethereum — USDC leaves Base. DAI is what can arrive on Ethereum.

Maker's dollar, not Circle's

DAI is minted through Maker's system. It is not a Circle IOU and it is not Tether's USDT. People treat it as a dollar because the peg is designed to hold, not because the contract is USDC with a new name. A desk that redeems at Circle cannot redeem this DAI at Circle. If your instructions said USDT, this page is the wrong asset even when the price on the screen is close.

Decimals change the figure you expect

A balance of 100 USDC is 100000000 base units. A balance of 100 DAI is 100 followed by 18 zeros. Wallets usually hide that, and a raw explorer transfer may not. If you compare base units across this route, the numbers will look wildly different for the same dollar amount. Read the human amount on the quote, then match the token contract, not the integer width.

Wrong route, named plainly

Do not use this page to wrap or unwrap ETH. Do not use it if you wanted Tether at 0xdAC17F958D2ee523a2206206994597C13D831ec7. Do not use it if you wanted to keep Circle USDC and only change chains. A local swap on Base, if the DAI you want is already listed there, avoids the bridge. Crossing chains is justified when the DAI balance has to sit on Ethereum.

How to follow the payment

The steps for signing and tracking a hop are in how to bridge assets between chains. You still verify the two contracts yourself: source on Basescan, DAI on Etherscan. Leave ETH on Base for gas. Leave ETH on Ethereum so the DAI is not stuck as a balance you cannot send. The bridge wait is separate from the 12 second block time, and it is not promised here.

Legal

Risk disclosure

XAUConnect is a non-custodial swap aggregator. Digital assets are volatile and may lose value rapidly. Content on this page is educational and not investment advice. Verify every contract address on the official block explorer before approving a transaction.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best way to swap USDC from Base to DAI on Ethereum?

The token that leaves is Circle USDC at 0x833589fCD6eDb6E08f4c7C32D4f71b54bdA02913. Confirm it on Basescan.

Is DAI just USDC under another ticker?

No. USDC is issued by Circle and uses 6 decimals. DAI is issued through Maker and uses 18 decimals. The Ethereum contract for this route is 0x6B175474E89094C44Da98b954EedeAC495271d0F. If a counterparty said Circle or Tether, this arrival token will not satisfy that instruction. Compare the contract on Etherscan before you mark the invoice paid.

Why does the raw amount look so much larger?

DAI's 18 decimal places make the base-unit integer bigger than USDC's 6 decimal places for a similar dollar value. The wallet should show the human amount. If you are reading an event log on Etherscan, divide by 10 to the 18th for DAI and by 10 to the 6th for the USDC you sent from Base.

Can I send this DAI back by reversing the same transaction?

A confirmed send is not reversed from this page. DAI, once credited on Ethereum, is a new balance at the Maker contract. Moving it back to Base is a separate quote, with its own gas in ETH on chain 1 and its own minimum. If that return quote is worse than you accept, do not sign it.

Live execution

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Open the swap page with this cross-chain route pre-selected, then connect your wallet on the source chain to quote and execute. You keep the keys.

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