🆕 What happens when I send wrong coin or used the wrong network (and what to do next)

The frustrating truth is that “sending the wrong coin or using the wrong network” doesn’t always mean your funds are gone, but it does mean your deposit probably won’t be credited automatically. What happens next depends on one big question:

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Did you send to an exchange/custodial platform, or to a wallet you control?

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If you control the destination wallet (you have the seed phrase), you can sometimes recover the funds.

A very common mistake example: you meant to withdraw/deposit USDC (ERC-20) on Ethereum, but used USDT (ERC-20) on Ethereum.

If you don’t control the destination (e.g., it’s an exchange address), you’ll need to contact support. And if you’re not comfortable switching networks/tokens in wallets, don’t send more transactions. Open a ticket instead.

This guide focuses on the three most common real-world cases: correct network but sent the wrong coin, unsupported network deposits and missing memos/tags (on exchanges), plus a quick note for the self-custody scenario.

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First:
Don’t panic-click (don’t send another test)

Before you try random fixes, pause and collect the facts. When recoveries fail, it’s often because people can’t provide the exact transaction details later, or they keep sending more funds into the same mistake.

At minimum, you want:

• Tx hash (transaction ID)
  
  
• Network/chain used (e.g., Ethereum ERC-20, Tron TRC-20, BSC BEP-20)
  
  
• Asset sent (USDT, USDC, ETH, XRP, etc.)
  
  
• Amount you sent
  
  
• The destination address
  
  
• Timestamp (approx is usually fine)
  
  

If your transaction was picked up by the network (blockchain), you should be able to verify all the above details on the blockchains block explorer, and link to the block explorer for extra clarity when you contact support. If your transaction didn't hit the blockchain, you might be able to cancel it because it is still pending from your exchange wallet, or personal wallet.

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Scenario 1: You deposited to an exchange using the wrong coin or wrong network (open a recovery ticket)

This is the classic mistake: you send a deposit to an exchange address, but select the wrong network. A more common variation is “right chain, wrong token”, for example, sending USDT (ERC-20) to an address the exchange displayed for USDC (ERC-20) on Ethereum.

In many cases, the deposit address is valid and the exchange may technically “receive” the funds on-chain, but their system won’t credit it, because it doesn’t match the expected asset + network combination for that deposit route.

This happens a lot on Ethereum because most ERC-20 deposit addresses look identical (they all start with 0x…). Wallets often don’t warn you, because any ERC-20 token can be sent to any Ethereum address, even if the receiving platform isn’t set up to recognize or credit it. That’s very different from sending BTC to an ETH address, which is usually caught and rejected before broadcast.

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Rule of thumb: On Ethereum/ERC-20, always double-check the token name + network before you send, because Ethereum supports thousands of tokens, and the chain itself won’t stop you from sending the wrong one.

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What to do

Open a support ticket and explicitly request asset recovery for an unsupported deposit. Keep the message short and precise.

Include:

• Tx hash
• Asset + amount
• Network used (e.g., ERC-20)
• Destination address
• Your exchange account email / UID
• The deposit page / network you intended to use (optional, but helpful)

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Use this phrasing (it works better than vague wording):

“I’m requesting asset recovery for _________. Here is the transaction information…”

‍Note: If your mistake was made on Ethereum blockchain, you can double check it by using https://etherscan.io

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What to expect (important)

Even when recovery is possible, exchanges often treat it as a manual, risky, internal operation, so they commonly:

• Charge a recovery fee (often a large flat fee or a percentage of the recovered amount; 10–20% isn’t unusual when it’s percentage-based).
  
  
• Reserve the right to decline recovery entirely, especially for small amounts, congested chains, or operational risk.
  
  
• Take a long time. Weeks to months is normal, and some large exchanges reportedly batch recoveries and only do them periodically (sometimes a few times a year). Patience matters.
  
  

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Scenario 2: You sent a coin that required a ‘memo/tag’, and forgot to add it

Some networks require extra info because exchanges often use shared deposit addresses. XRP is the classic example that includes a memo or tag (also XLM, TON, and others depending on platform setup). Without the memo/tag, the funds can arrive, but the exchange won’t know which account the funds belong to. This tag or memo is like an Australian Bank 'BSB' number or similar to a 'routing number' in other regions.

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What to do

Open a ticket requesting manual credit for a missing ‘memo/tag’ deposit.

Provide:

• Destination address
  
  
• Tx hash
  
  
• Amount
  
  
• Timestamp
  
  
• Any reference/memo field you should have used (if you know it)
  
  
• Your account email/UID
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What to expect

Just like unsupported deposits, memo-related recoveries often:

• Incur a recovery fee (because it’s manual investigation + internal processing)
  
  
• Take time, especially at larger, busier exchanges
  
  

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“Other” mistakes (short version)

A few other scenarios exist, but they boil down to the same principle: crypto doesn’t arrive to “a person,” it arrives to an address on a specific network, and sometimes that address can’t do anything with it.

Examples:

• Sending to a smart contract that can’t move the funds out (contracts only do what they’re coded to do)
  
  
• Sending between incompatible address formats (often unrecoverable). However wallets generally automatically protect against these super incompatible formats
  
  
• Sending to the wrong type of address (e.g., token contract address)
  
  • Sending to a burn address (e.g., like throwing money into the fireplace)

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Some of these cases, especially the burn address will unfortunately mean 'Game Over', however for smart contract, there might be an owner or controller of that smart contract and so more understanding of the origin/creator of that smart contract will be needed in order to contact them.

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How to prevent this next time (without getting paranoid)

• Always match asset + network + deposit instructions (token name alone isn’t enough)
  
  
• If a coin requires a memo/tag, treat it as mandatory
  
  
• When fees are reasonable, send a small test amount first
  
  
• Keep receipts: tx hash + chain + address + amount
  
  

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Where HollaEx® helps crypto businesses reduce user “wrong network” mistakes

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A lot of these problems are UX problems: coin vs chain vs token standard all sharing similar logos such as ETH. HollaEx® is built to reduce those errors at the source by making the deposit experience harder to misuse, through clear network labeling, iconography, thought-out steps, and wallet-style address checks that help prevent sending to the wrong place in the first place.

Start offering your customers safe and easy to use crypto wallets and their own unique deposit address today with our white-label crypto software. Request a trail and see how it can benefit your business today.