Read 2026-11-14 · four exchange APIs · rebuilt daily

What to do when you sent crypto to wrong network

If you sent crypto to wrong network endpoints, immediate recovery depends on key control and destination address architecture. When you have sent crypto to wrong network infrastructure, your first step is verifying whether the recipient address shares a key pair with a network the receiving platform supports.

What to do when you sent crypto to wrong network

When a deposit fails to arrive, execute four technical checks in precise sequence before contacting exchange support.

1. Locate the transaction hash on the source blockchain explorer and copy the exact receiving address.
2. Check if the receiving address is an Ethereum Virtual Machine address starting with 0x or a native chain address format.
3. Verify whether the receiving exchange supports the destination chain for any asset, even if it does not support the specific token deposited.
4. Confirm whether the deposit destination is a custodial wallet generated for your account or a shared deposit smart contract.

Recoverable scenarios and exchange recovery mechanics

Centralized venues evaluate wrong-network recovery based on key derivation. EVM networks like Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Arbitrum, Polygon, and Optimism use the same secp256k1 elliptic curve and address derivation path. If you send an ERC-20 token over Arbitrum to an Ethereum deposit address generated by an exchange, the exchange owns the private key capable of signing transactions on Arbitrum.

In this scenario, exchange technical teams can export the private key into an isolated node environment on the correct network, interact with the token contract, and transfer the assets to your balance. Exchanges typically deduct a manual processing fee from the recovered amount to cover manual key management risks and gas costs.

The two situations where funds are permanently lost

Two network conditions make asset recovery impossible regardless of exchange intervention.

First, sending funds to a destination address generated on a non-EVM chain with incompatible key cryptography results in permanent loss. For example, sending Solana to a Bitcoin or Cardano address sends funds to an address format where the private key derived on the recipient chain cannot sign for the destination address. No platform can generate a valid signature to broadcast a transaction.

Second, sending funds directly to an unmanaged smart contract address, bridge contract, or token contract missing withdrawal functions locks the assets permanently. If an address is governed purely by contract code without an administrative owner or private key, no human or system can authorize a transfer.

Comparing venue costs after collateral recovery

Once funds are recovered or reallocated into perpetual trading accounts, execution fees and funding rates determine holding costs across platforms. Below is the published rate schedule and active 8-hour funding rates for perpetual futures contracts across major liquidity venues.

| Venue | BTC 8h Funding | ETH 8h Funding | Futures Taker Fee | Futures Maker Fee |

| Bitget | +0.0035% | +0.0009% | 0.0003 | 0.0002 |

| Bybit | +0.0064% | +0.0061% | 0.00055 | 0.0002 |

| MEXC | +0.0037% | +0.0058% | 0.0002 | 0.0000 |

| OKX | +0.0062% | +0.0010% | 0.0005 | 0.0002 |

Holding long positions incurs varying daily funding costs across venues. For a Bitcoin perpetual position with a nominal value of 100,000 USDT:

• Bitget 8h funding rate is +0.0035%, which costs 3.50 USDT per 8-hour period, or 10.50 USDT per 24-hour day.
• Bybit 8h funding rate is +0.0064%, which costs 6.40 USDT per 8-hour period, or 19.20 USDT per 24-hour day.
• The funding rate spread between Bitget and Bybit is 0.0029 percentage points per 8-hour interval, saving 8.70 USDT per day on a 100,000 USDT long position.

For an Ethereum long position of 100,000 USDT nominal value:

• Bitget 8h funding rate is +0.0009%, costing 0.90 USDT per 8-hour interval, or 2.70 USDT per day.
• Bybit 8h funding rate is +0.0061%, costing 6.10 USDT per 8-hour interval, or 18.30 USDT per day.
• The spread of 0.0052 percentage points per 8-hour interval results in a holding cost difference of 15.60 USDT per day between venues.

When opening positions, taker execution fees add an upfront cost. Market-entering a 100,000 USDT position on Bybit at 0.00055 taker fee incurs 55.00 USDT, while on MEXC at 0.0002 taker fee it incurs 20.00 USDT.

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