How to check a deposit address
- Author
- CRYPTO PORT Editorial
- Published
- Updated
- Reading time
- 5 min
In short
Always take a deposit address from the receiving service's own app or website and paste it with the copy function. After pasting, check the first and last few characters by eye and confirm the network matches. Because a transfer cannot be undone, this check is your last line of defence.
Key points
- Get the address from the recipient's own official screen — never from an email or a chat message
- Copy rather than type, then verify the first and last characters after pasting
- Addresses differ per asset and per network; do not reuse one across them
- Some assets and services issue a new address each time, which is normal in itself
Definition
The string that identifies where crypto should be sent. On a blockchain, if the string is valid the transfer goes exactly there — even if it is not where you meant.
Begin by fixing where you get addresses from. Open the receiving exchange or wallet yourself, go to the deposit screen for that asset, and use the address shown there. Never use one that arrived by email, chat, a social post or a screenshot, however much you trust the sender. Impersonating an exchange and supplying a fake address is one of the most common ways people lose crypto.
Once you have it, use the copy function. Addresses are long and full of similar-looking characters; typing one by hand fails almost every time. After pasting, compare the first four to six and the last four to six characters against the receiving screen. It feels like a formality, but it is effectively the only defence against malware that swaps your clipboard contents for a different address. If you scan a QR code, check the resulting string the same way.
Matching the network deserves equal weight. The same asset name can exist on several chains, and if the sending and receiving sides disagree, the funds will not arrive even though the address format looks right. The deposit screen normally states which network its address belongs to; confirm that name matches the option you select when sending. If the wording differs subtly, ask support before you send.
You may notice the address changes each time you look. Issuing a fresh address per deposit is a normal privacy design, and older ones usually keep working — though some operators do retire them. Rather than keeping a note of 'my address' and reusing it, open the deposit screen again each time you send.
However carefully you check, nothing beats a test transfer. The first time you send to a new destination, send something close to the minimum, confirm it arrives, then send the real amount. The extra fee is nothing next to what skipping the step can cost.
Watch out for
- · Do not judge whether an address is genuine by how convincing an email or chat looks. Always fetch it yourself from the official screen
- · For assets that require a destination tag or memo, a correct address without the tag still fails. Check it with the same care
- · If a screen asking for an address also asks for a seed phrase or private key, it is a fake site. Receiving funds never requires either
Frequently asked questions
I sent a different asset to the same address.
Sending an asset to an address that does not support it means it will not credit. Some operators offer a recovery process, but the conditions and cost differ and some cases cannot be recovered. Note the transaction ID and contact support promptly.