How to Handle Lost Crypto Sent Over Wrong Network

[AdamMattas]

I am wondering how to handle an intra transaction that never arrived at its intended destination.

[haavardf]

I had a quick look at the source code, and I can't find a transaction_type for that. Probably something that needs to be implemented, but I would wait for someone that knows the code to confirm this.

What I would have tried, if it was me, was to mark the transaction's recived as 0, and set the fee to the value that you sent. If that works, make a note what really happened if audited. I have just been looking at this project recently, so I might be completely wrong.

[AdamMattas]

That's an interesting suggestion to account for the transaction. If there isn't a built-in procedure for this scenario I will most likely use your method. Thanks for the response.

[eprbell]

I am wondering how to handle an intra transaction that never arrived at its intended destination.

Can you clarify what you mean by "never arrived at its intended destination":

• it was sent to different address than the intended one or
• it was never sent (e.g. fees are higher than the sender wants to pay) or
• something else.

[AdamMattas]

I think I either used an incorrect wallet address or a wallet address on the wrong type of network. I vaguely remember, in 2021, trying to send MATIC to Coinbase and later realizing they weren't using the Polygon network yet.

Timestamp	Asset	From Exchange	From Holder	To Exchange	To Holder	Spot Price	Crypto Sent	Crypto Received	Unique ID	Notes
2021-11-12 06:45:00+0000	MATIC	Polygon	Adam Mattas	Coinbase	Adam Mattas	$1.69	13.00000000	0.00000000	e53904cf-6dc7-4d14-aa67-4eb07c5b4901	Never arrived. Wrong network?

The problem may be more complicated. The following year, Coinbase shows that I received the same amount of MATIC. I haven't been able to account for its origin, and I'm still trying to determine if it's from the same transaction or a later transaction that coincidentally is for the same amount.

[eprbell]

I think I either used an incorrect wallet address or a wallet address on the wrong type of network. I vaguely remember, in 2021, trying to send MATIC to Coinbase and later realizing they weren't using the Polygon network yet.
Timestamp Asset From Exchange From Holder To Exchange To Holder Spot Price Crypto Sent Crypto Received Unique ID Notes
2021-11-12 06:45:00+0000 MATIC Polygon Adam Mattas Coinbase Adam Mattas $1.69 13.00000000 0.00000000 e53904cf-6dc7-4d14-aa67-4eb07c5b4901 Never arrived. Wrong network?

The problem may be more complicated. The following year, Coinbase shows that I received the same amount of MATIC. I haven't been able to account for its origin, and I'm still trying to determine if it's from the same transaction or a later transaction that coincidentally is for the same amount.

I don't know enough about Matic and Polygon to answer definitively. What happened to the coins you sent? Did you lose them or recover them?

[AdamMattas]

I'm really just trying to figure out what is the best way to account for the loss of crypto in general. @haavardf used the term "unrecoverable" to describe when crypto is lost for any reason. Is there a method for either scenario where the crypto is permanently lost or is somehow able to be recovered years later?

[eprbell]

Hm, it sounds like we may need LOSS as a new type of OUT transaction...

[AdamMattas]

It must be difficult to come up with categories for every possible scenario. Thanks for all your work on this software. It has been of great value to me.

[eprbell]

Thanks! I'm glad you found it useful. Let me think a bit more about this: I'll update this thread when I have more news.

[haavardf]

You can defenitly loose crypto by mistake, I am paying for an online crypto tax solution, and they use the term 'unrecovrable'. It could be sent to the wrong address, scam or even loss of private keys. I guess it will just be an forever non taxable event, but your balance should go to zero.