WALLETS & SECURITY

How to Send and Receive Cryptocurrency Safely

Sending and receiving cryptocurrency is one of the most fundamental skills in crypto. You’ll do it constantly, whether you’re moving assets between wallets, transferring funds to an exchange, paying for something, or sending crypto to another person. And unlike a bank transfer, where mistakes can often be reversed with a phone call, crypto transactions are final. There is no undo button.

Getting this right every single time is non-negotiable. This resource walks you through exactly how to send and receive crypto safely, the mistakes that catch people out, and the habits that separate careful investors from those who learn the hard way.

How Crypto Transactions Work

Before getting into the practical steps, it helps to understand what’s actually happening when you send cryptocurrency.

Every crypto transaction is a transfer of value between two wallet addresses on a blockchain. A wallet address is a unique string of letters and numbers that functions similarly to a bank account number, except it’s generated cryptographically and is specific to the blockchain network it belongs to.

When you initiate a send, you’re signing a transaction with your private key and broadcasting it to the network. Validators or miners on the network verify and confirm the transaction, after which it becomes permanently recorded on the blockchain. Once confirmed, it cannot be reversed, altered, or recalled under any circumstances.

This is what makes getting the details right so critical. There is no customer support line that can retrieve funds sent to the wrong address. There is no dispute process. The blockchain is the final record, and it is immutable.

Understanding Wallet Addresses

A wallet address is what you need to send or receive cryptocurrency. Every address is unique to a specific blockchain network, and this is one of the most important things to understand before sending anything.

Bitcoin has its own address format. Ethereum has its own address format. Solana has its own address format. Sending crypto to an address on the wrong network is one of the most common and costly mistakes in crypto, and in most cases the funds are unrecoverable.

For example, sending Bitcoin to an Ethereum address, or sending an ERC-20 token to a Solana address, will almost certainly result in permanent loss of funds. Always confirm the network before sending.

How to Receive Cryptocurrency

Receiving crypto is straightforward, but there are a few things to get right every time.

Step 1: Open your wallet or exchange account. Navigate to the asset you want to receive and find the “Receive” or “Deposit” option. This will display your wallet address for that specific asset and network.

Step 2: Share your address. You can share your wallet address as a text string or as a QR code, which the sender can scan directly. Either format works, but always double-check the address displayed is for the correct asset and network.

Step 3: Confirm the network. Before sharing your address, confirm which network it belongs to. Many wallets and exchanges support multiple networks for the same asset. For example, USDT (stablecoin) can exist on multiple networks including Ethereum, Tron, and Solana. The sender needs to send on the same network your receiving address belongs to.

Step 4: Wait for confirmation. Once the sender has broadcast the transaction, it needs to be confirmed by the network. Confirmation times vary by blockchain. Bitcoin typically takes 10 to 60 minutes depending on network congestion and the fee paid. Ethereum is generally faster. Solana is faster still. Most exchanges require a minimum number of confirmations before crediting your account.

How to Send Cryptocurrency

Sending crypto requires more attention to detail than receiving it, because you’re the one initiating the transaction. Follow these steps carefully every single time.

Step 1: Confirm the recipient’s address and network. Ask the recipient to share their address and confirm which network it belongs to. Never assume. A quick confirmation takes seconds; recovering funds sent to the wrong address can be impossible.

Step 2: Copy the address carefully. Never type a wallet address manually. Always copy and paste it directly. A single character error sends your funds to a completely different address, or to no address at all. After pasting, visually verify the first four to six characters and the last four to six characters of the address against what the recipient sent you. This is a habit worth building from day one.

Step 3: Start with a test transaction. When sending to a new address for the first time, especially a large amount, consider sending a small test amount first. Confirm it arrives correctly before sending the full amount. The cost of a small test transaction is minimal compared to the cost of losing an entire transfer.

Step 4: Select the correct network. In your wallet or exchange, confirm you’re sending on the same network the recipient is expecting. If they’ve given you an Ethereum address, make sure you’re sending via the Ethereum network, not an alternative like BNB Smart Chain or Polygon.

Step 5: Set your fee. Most networks allow you to choose a transaction fee. Higher fees typically result in faster confirmation times. During periods of high network congestion, gas fees on Ethereum in particular can be significant. On lower-fee networks like Solana, this is rarely a concern.

Step 6: Review everything before confirming. Before hitting send, review the recipient address, the amount, the network, and the fee. Every single time. This review step is the last line of defence before a transaction becomes irreversible.

The Most Common Mistakes

These are the errors that result in lost funds, and they happen to experienced investors as well as beginners.

Sending to the wrong network. As covered above, this is the most common cause of lost funds in crypto transfers. Always confirm the network matches on both ends.

Copying an incorrect address. Some sophisticated malware, known as clipboard hijacking, can replace a copied wallet address with an attacker’s address while it sits in your clipboard. After pasting an address, always verify it visually before confirming. This is one of the crypto scams that operates completely silently and catches even experienced users off guard.

Sending the wrong asset. Sending Bitcoin to an address intended for Ethereum, or sending the wrong token entirely, is another common error. Double-check the asset selected in your wallet before confirming.

Ignoring minimum deposit requirements. Some exchanges have minimum deposit amounts for certain assets. Sending below the minimum can result in funds that are credited late, held, or in some cases lost entirely. Check the exchange’s deposit requirements before sending.

Losing access to your wallet. If you’re sending from or receiving into a self-custody wallet, keeping your seed phrase and private keys secure is critical. Losing access to your wallet means losing access to any funds inside it. Our resource on what to do if you lose access to your crypto wallet is worth reading to understand your options if this happens.

Sending and Receiving on Hardware Wallets

If you’re using a hardware wallet like a Ledger, Trezor, Coldcard, Bitbox, SafePal, or Tangem, the process for sending and receiving follows the same principles above with one important addition: always verify the receiving address on the device screen itself, not just on your computer or phone screen.

This is because a compromised computer could display a different address than what your hardware wallet is actually generating. The address shown on the device’s own screen is the trustworthy one. Always confirm there.

When sending from a hardware wallet, the transaction must be physically confirmed on the device. This is a deliberate security feature that protects against remote attacks. Never approve a transaction on your hardware wallet that you did not personally initiate.

Two-Factor Authentication and Account Security

If you’re sending or receiving through a centralised exchange, having two-factor authentication (2FA) enabled on your account is non-negotiable. Two-factor authentication adds a critical layer of protection that prevents unauthorised withdrawals even if your password is compromised.

Most reputable exchanges also have withdrawal whitelisting features, where you can restrict withdrawals to pre-approved addresses only. This is worth enabling if your exchange supports it, as it significantly reduces the risk of funds being drained if your account is ever accessed without your permission.

For a comprehensive overview of keeping your crypto accounts and wallets secure, our resource on safely and securely using your crypto wallet covers the full picture.

Tracking Your Transactions

Every transaction on a public blockchain is visible and verifiable using a blockchain explorer. For Bitcoin, tools like mempool.space allow you to look up any transaction by its transaction ID (TXID) and see its current confirmation status. For Ethereum and ERC-20 tokens, Etherscan serves the same purpose.

After sending, your wallet or exchange will typically provide a TXID. You can use this to track the transaction in real time and confirm it has been received. If a transaction appears stuck or unconfirmed for an extended period, the TXID is what you’ll need to investigate further.

From a tax perspective, every transaction you make is a potentially taxable event in Australia. Keeping accurate records of all sends and receives, including dates, amounts, wallet addresses, and AUD values at the time of the transaction, is essential for ATO crypto reporting obligations. Our resources on cryptocurrency tax in Australia and ATO crypto rules cover this in full.

Key Takeaways

Crypto transactions are irreversible. Verify every address before sending, confirm the network matches on both ends, and use test transactions when sending significant amounts to a new address for the first time. Build the habit of visually verifying copied addresses to protect against clipboard hijacking. Enable two-factor authentication on all exchange accounts, verify addresses on hardware wallet screens directly, and keep accurate records of every transaction for tax purposes.

The mechanics of sending and receiving crypto are simple. The discipline required to do it safely every single time is what separates investors who protect their assets from those who don’t.

If you’re building your foundation in crypto security and want guided support on wallets, custody, and safe participation in the market, our Runite Tier Membership includes dedicated security and self-custody education as a core part of the offering.

Find out more at shepleycapital.com/membership.

WRITTEN & REVIEWED BY Chris Shepley

UPDATED: MARCH 2026