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USDT transfer loss of $36,880: A painful lesson in cryptocurrency!

Newcomers must be cautious; being careless can lead to significant losses.

Just today, my friend suffered a loss of $36,880 while conducting a USDT transfer. This incident serves as a warning to all cryptocurrency players: in this space, every step must be taken with care.

The erroneous transfer
My friend originally intended to transfer $36,880 USDT from KuCoin to a partner's OKX wallet. The partner provided an ERC20 network address, and he thought everything was fine.
However, while setting it up, he accidentally chose the Polygon network and wasn't aware of it. After hitting confirm, the money was deducted from his account, but it never reached the partner's wallet. Multiple attempts to recover the funds failed because the OKX wallet address does not support deposits on the Polygon network, resulting in the USDT being lost.

Summary of lessons learned
1. Network mismatch: The target address should have used the ERC20 network, but the funds were transferred to the Polygon network.
2. Irreversible transfer: Unlike bank remittances, cryptocurrency transfers, once confirmed, cannot be reversed; mistakes must be accepted.

Suggestions to avoid repeating mistakes:
1. Verify wallet address: Carefully check the receiving address and specified network; don't think it's too much trouble.
2. Ensure network compatibility: Confirm that the chosen network is compatible with the recipient's network to avoid errors.
3. For large transfers, first conduct a small test: Send a small “trial” amount to confirm accuracy before proceeding with a large transfer.