What is a memo or destination tag when sending crypto?
Quick Answer
Some blockchains (XRP, XLM, EOS, sometimes TON) route all exchange deposits to one shared address and use a memo/tag number to identify whose deposit it is. Forget the memo and your coins land at the exchange — but not in your account.
TL;DR
The address gets coins to the exchange; the memo gets them to YOUR account. Both required where shown.
Key Takeaways
- 1Memos apply to specific chains — Bitcoin itself doesn't use them
- 2Exchanges pool these coins in one address; the memo is your account label
- 3A missing memo means a manual recovery ticket, often with a fee
- 4Wallet-to-wallet transfers between your own addresses may not need one
Full Explanation
Account-based chains like XRP and Stellar make creating addresses costly, so exchanges economize: every customer deposits to the same address, distinguished only by a memo (also called destination tag) — effectively your apartment number in a large building. The blockchain delivers to the building either way; without the number, the mailroom doesn't know whose package it is.
If you've sent without the required memo, the funds aren't burned — they sit in the exchange's pooled wallet, unattributed. Recovery means a support ticket with your transaction hash, and most exchanges will manually credit it after verification, though some charge a recovery fee and it can take days to weeks.
Prevention is simple: when an exchange's deposit page shows both an address AND a memo, both are mandatory — copy each separately and paste into the corresponding field of the sending platform. Most exchanges now warn loudly when the memo field is empty for these chains; treat that warning as a hard stop, not a suggestion.