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What happens if I send crypto on the wrong network?
Blockchains are separate ledgers, so coins sent on one network exist only on that network, even when the address looks the same. Whether they can be recovered depends on who controls that address on the network they were actually sent on.
What it means for you
If you hold the keys yourself, coins sent on another network that uses Ethereum-style addresses usually sit at your same address there: add that network to your wallet to see and move them, with its coin for gas. Sent to an exchange deposit address on a network the exchange does not support, only the exchange can retrieve them, if it chooses to.
How it works
Ethereum and the many networks built like it derive the address from the same key, so one key controls the same address on each; EIP-155 added a chain ID to every signature so that a transaction made for one of them cannot be replayed on another. Tokens do not move between chains by themselves: a bridge is needed to carry them across. An exchange often gives one deposit address but watches only the networks it lists for that coin, which is why exchanges ask you to pick a network. A payment that has landed cannot be reversed.
Sources: ethereum.org: Blockchain bridges, EIP-155: Simple replay attack protection, FTC: What to know about cryptocurrency and scams · checked 5 October 2026
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