An anonymous crypto user has reportedly made a costly mistake, spending 34 ETH in gas fees to transfer just over $2,200 worth of Ether. This blunder resulted in a staggering $90,000 fee for a transaction that should have only cost a few dollars. According to data from Etherscan shared by a user called DeFiac on August 11, the user paid 34.26 ETH in gas fees (approximately $89,200 at current rates) to send 0.87 ETH, valued at around $2,262. At the time, Ethereum gas fees were as low as 2-4 Gwei, meaning a typical transfer would only set someone back about $5. This means the user overpaid by an incredible 1,783,900%.
Mistakes like these, often referred to as "fat-finger" transactions, are not rare in the crypto world. For instance, on October 10, 2023, an NFT trader accidentally paid 1,055 ETH (around $1.6 million) for an NFT that was only worth $1,000. Similarly, on April 6, a collector on OpenSea spent 100 ETH (about $191,000) on a free NFT mint, which led to allegations of wash trading. Even major players in the industry can slip up; in May 2021, Crypto.com mistakenly transferred $7 million to an Australian user, Thevamanogari Manivel, who then used the funds to purchase a luxury mansion in Melbourne and transferred around $4 million overseas. She was later sentenced to 209 days in jail for "trading in proceeds of crime."
While the excessive gas fee could be a simple error, it might also hint at a more complex scheme, such as money laundering. Users must be aware of which Ethereum validators are processing their transactions and ensure they are sent correctly. The anonymous user would have needed to coordinate closely with these validators to prevent funds from being misallocated. An October 2023 report highlights the importance of understanding crypto staking in this context.
