Crypto glossary
Sent to the wrong network
Sending to the wrong network means moving tokens on a chain the recipient does not support; funds may be recoverable or lost depending on who holds the keys.
Many tokens exist on several chains, and many chains share the same address format. USDT, for example, circulates on Ethereum, Tron, Solana and others, while every EVM network uses identical 0x addresses. If you withdraw USDT on BNB Chain to an exchange deposit address that only watches Ethereum, the transaction succeeds on chain but the exchange never credits it.
Whether the funds come back depends on control of the receiving address. If it is your own self-custodial wallet with an EVM address, adding the network in the wallet usually makes the tokens appear, because the same key works on every EVM chain. If it belongs to an exchange, only its team can move the funds, and many offer a recovery request, often with a fee and no guarantee. Addresses on chains with different formats are generally invalid and rejected before sending.
Smart contract addresses are the hardest case: a multisig or contract deployed on one chain may not exist at the same address on another, and tokens sent there can be stuck. Always match the network on both sides and send a small test first.
Example
A trader withdraws USDC on Arbitrum to an exchange address that only supports Ethereum; the exchange's support team retrieves it two weeks later after he files a recovery ticket.