The Problem:

Now that we have identified the problem:

The interoperability (or lack thereof) &incompatibility between separate blockchains & platforms like centralized exachanges (think about trying to use a Microsoft product on an Apple computer, or trying to use an Android application on an iPhone – it doesn’t work, there is no compatibility), this begs the question:

• What happens if a crypto participant accidentally sends tokens to a mismatched receiving wallet address (ie: Sends USDC from a Polygon Network [MATIC] wallet to an Avalanche Network [AVAX] wallet – Two chains that do not communicate or credit each other’s assets in most cases).

• Another critical example would be sending Ethereum (ETH) tokens to a public key (cryptocurrency wallet) generated for receiving Bitcoin (BTC).

So, what happens to these tokens/coins?

• The tokens are unfortunately lost in transit, neither arriving at the receiver’s wallet address nor returning to the sender.

• In most cases, these funds have an inability to be recovered and are off in the proverbial “crypto oblivion” forever. Never to be seen, nor heard from, ever again. Of course, the easiest way to avoid such an incident is by double-checking the details of any, and all, given transaction(s) to ensure that everything is coming from and being credited to the proper chain and wallet address.

• This can become a tedious, time consuming, endeavor the more transactions you send. However, as humans, we are not infallible. Our imperfections leave our actions susceptible to error, but the consequences of such an error in the cryptocurrency ecosystem can be detrimental to crypto participants’ portfolios.