Major cryptocurrency platform Coinbase has offered an asset recovery tool for users who “mistakenly send unsupported tokens” to exchange addresses.
In a December 15 announcement, Coinbase said that users who sent any of the roughly 4,000 ERC-20 tokens to a Coinbase address could recover their previously unrecoverable funds by providing “the Ethereum TXID for the transaction in which the asset was lost and the contract address of the asset.” lost”. The exchange said that certain ETC-20 tokens, including Wrapped Ether (wETH), TrueUSD (TUSD), and Staked Ether (STETH), would be eligible for recovery, with a 5% fee on transactions over $100.
“Our recovery tool is capable of moving unbacked assets directly from your gateway address to your self-custody wallet without ever exposing the private keys,” Coinbase said. “We did this using patent-pending technology to send the funds directly from your input address without processing the funds through our centralized exchange infrastructure.”
Many users have been dealing with erroneously sent funds since almost the beginning of the crypto space. In a 2018 case in Canada, a court ruled that a user who received 530 Ether (ETH) tokens instead of 530 Copytrack (CPY) tokens — now defunct — was required to return them. An Australian judge handed down a similar ruling for a case in which Crypto.com mistakenly sent $10.5 million to a user instead of a $100 refund.
Other large exchanges appear to offer recovery of similar transactions on a case-by-case basis. Binance said on its support pages that it can choose to help users “solely at its discretion” and largely “does not offer a token/coin recovery service.”. Crypto.com instructed users to contact their customer service department, adding “recovery of funds may not be possible in some cases.”
Coinbase has more than 100 million users around the world. CEO Brian Armstrong reported in December that the exchange’s trading revenue for 2022 was projected to be “about half” that of 2021.. The platform also reported that law enforcement had increased requests for information related to criminal investigations.
Clarification: The information and/or opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views or editorial line of Cointelegraph. The information presented here should not be taken as financial advice or investment recommendation. All investment and commercial movement involve risks and it is the responsibility of each person to do their due research before making an investment decision.
Investments in crypto assets are not regulated. They may not be suitable for retail investors and the entire amount invested may be lost. The services or products offered are not directed or accessible to investors in Spain.