Withdrawing one cryptocurrency to another currency’s blockchain should, in theory, be impossible. That is not the case where Bitcoin and Litecoin are concerned, though. One Reddit user claims how he withdrew a Bitcoin transaction to an LTC address. The money was effectively sent – although no TX ID is provided – and the money is lost in limbo. This serves as a valuable reminder to never send money to a wrong address.
It is baffling how people effectively withdraw cryptocurrency to a wrong address. Most exchange withdrawals rely on copying a wallet address. Especially when taking out two different currencies, ensuring the right one is copied is of the utmost importance. For some reason, this user withdrew Litecoin first and accidentally sent Bitcoin to the same address. As both blockchains share similar addresses, the transfer went through, even though the chances of this happening are slim to none.
Sending BTC to a Litecoin Address
It would have been interesting if the user provided the transaction ID or wallet address, but that is not the case. We do know the money was withdrawn from Coinbase. It is surprising these exchanges do not perform rudimentary checks to prevent these issues from happening. Even wiping the user’s clipboard after a withdrawal is initiated would be a good start. Sadly, that is not the case. At the same time, users need to take precautions when withdrawing money. It is their task to use the correct address for the right blockchain.
Interestingly enough, the Litecoin community isn’t too annoyed by this. Instead, one user is actually offering to send the victim 1 Bitcoin back. This shows the cryptocurrency community wants to help out others whenever they can. However, since these claims can’t be verified, it is impossible to tell if it is true. It seems the user has the wallet’s private key, though, which may aid in recovering the BTC funds. For now, it unclear if this plan succeeded.
Sending funds cross-blockchain is very uncommon, though. There are only a handful of incidents where such a transfer was even possible. It goes to show there are some exceptions in this regard, even in 2017. Such dual-chain addresses are exceptionally rare and you need to be very unlucky to own one. Then again, things like these can still happen regardless. Always take proper care of the information on your clipboard while withdrawing cryptocurrency funds.
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