User Pays 25,922 XRP in Fee to Transfer only 0.15 XRP to Coincheck

An unknown crypto user pays a hefty fee to send a tiny fraction of XRP to the popular crypto exchange Coincheck.

Prominent XRP Ledger (XRPL) dUNL validator Vet called the public’s attention to the transaction yesterday.

Transaction Details

According to Vet, the unknown user accidentally paid 26,000 XRP, valued at $15,288 at the time of writing, to move 0.15 XRP ($0.088). The XRPL dUNL operator disclosed that he spotted the transaction after conducting an advance search on XRPScan. 

Vet attached a screenshot of the transaction, confirming the incident. Per the data, the transaction occurred at 10:32 a.m. (UTC) on August 31, 2024. The 0.15 XRP was sent to a blockchain address registered on the Japanese-based crypto exchange Coincheck. Specifically, the unknown user paid exactly 25,922.7 XRP ($15,242) in fees to send these tokens.

2 Weeks ago someone paid accidentally ~26k #XRP in fees for a 0.15 XRP Payment 😬

Found via the advanced search of XRPScan ❤️ pic.twitter.com/yQlSDpH1LD

— Vet 🏴‍☠️ (@Vet_X0) September 16, 2024

Reason Behind the Expensive Mistake

The strange transaction stirred a major discussion within the XRP community, with some members eager to know what led to such a costly mistake.

Explaining, Vet speculated that this bizarre hefty fee could have emanated from a bug in a developer’s script due to a bad code. However, the validator explained that non-custodial wallets like Xaman or Coinbase could have avoided such an expensive mistake.

A Shift from the Norm

The incident goes against what is obtainable in the crypto space. Notably, crypto-related transaction costs are known to be less expensive compared to traditional financial systems.

Moreover, transactions on the XRP Ledger are relatively cheaper than those across other blockchains. For context, an average transaction on the XRPL costs about $0.0002. This suggests that the user who paid 25,922.7 XRP for a 0.15 XRP transaction made an overpayment of 7,620,999,900%.

Transactions of this sort usually occur due to an oversight, when the sender mistakes the massive fee for the amount they intended to send, but this is unlikely to be the case here. Notably, as a result of mistakes like this, crypto users are encouraged to double-check transaction details, including recipient address and fees, before proceeding with the transaction.

Nonetheless, many still fall victim to these errors. Last month, an Ethereum user paid 34.62 ETH, worth $92,504, to send a meager 0.87 ETH ($2,324).

Two years ago, another unknown user made an expensive mistake by paying 121.56 ETH ($157,764) in fees to transfer 183 ETH ($237,502).