Sending a test amount first
- Author
- CRYPTO PORT Editorial
- Published
- Updated
- Reading time
- 4 min
In short
The first time you send to a new destination, send a small amount and confirm it arrives. Blockchain transfers cannot be undone, and a few hundred yen in fees buys protection against losing the lot.
Key points
- A wrong address or the wrong chain is, as a rule, unrecoverable
- A test transfer verifies the address, the network and the receiving side in one go
- Wait for it to arrive before sending the real amount; treat the fee as a premium
- Never type an address by hand — paste it, then check the first and last characters by eye
Definition
Sending a small amount to a new destination and confirming receipt before sending the real amount.
Several transfer mistakes cannot be undone: one wrong character in the address, sending to an address on a different chain, withdrawing over a network the recipient does not support, sending directly to a contract address. Each is final at broadcast, and contacting the operator usually recovers nothing. So you have to build the check in before you send.
The procedure is trivial. Send something close to the minimum, confirm it arrives at the other end, then send the real amount. That one extra step validates the address, the network choice, whether the recipient supports it, and whether a required memo or destination tag (some chains demand one) is present — all at once.
Fix your habits around addresses too. Never type one by hand; always paste. Then compare the first and last few characters of what was pasted against the source, by eye. Clipboard-hijacking malware and address poisoning — seeding your history with a near-identical address — both mean 'I copied it' does not guarantee correctness. With a hardware wallet, read the destination on the device's own screen.
There is effectively no situation in which skipping the test is wise. Do it for large amounts, obviously, but also for a bridge you have not used before, a first withdrawal from an exchange, and a destination you have not touched in a while. When confirming arrival, check not just the displayed balance but that the required number of confirmations has been reached.
Watch out for
- · A transfer sent on the wrong chain is, as a rule, unrecoverable
- · On chains that require a destination tag or memo ID, omitting it can mean the funds do not arrive
- · If the destination changes after a successful test, test again
Frequently asked questions
Should I still test on a chain with high fees?
If the amount is many times the fee, yes. Where the fee is not negligible relative to the amount, you can instead verify the same destination on a cheaper chain, or split the transfer and send it in stages.