Tech support help needed: wrong address provided?

[WorriedAunt]

Bitcoin Client Software and Version Number: Electrum 3.1.3

Operating System: MacOS Sierra 10.1.3

System Hardware Specs: N/A

Description of Problem: I bought bitcoin via Bitcoin.com, using the Simplex transaction system. For the transaction, I provided the ‘Receiving address’ 1AkvKESvquHcA9xtD11eGv1A42oeiNeDYM given by my Electrum wallet. The support person from Simplex.com (see below) says this was the BTC address, rather than the BCH address I was supposed to have provided. Is the money now missing or can I trace it somehow? I don’t know what the BCH address is or how to find it. I have an Electrum bitcoin wallet; however it seems to be a bit tricky to use so I am planning to switch to a Bitcoin.com wallet asap. Any help most gratefully received; if the money is missing forever I will chalk it up to a lesson learnt!

Any Related Addresses: From Simplex.com support: When contacting your wallet support team, we recommend you to provide them with the BCH address listed in https://explorer.bitcoin.com/bch/address/1AkvKESvquHcA9xtD11eGv1A42oeiNeDYM

Any Related Transaction IDs: 4b54637c43beba0eae0cb0a8e139da3e170a941978d47aa5a37b17ff854939c1

Screenshot of the problem: N/A

Log Files from the Bitcoin Client: None - no money came in.

Log Files provided by Simplex.com:
Date,Transaction ID,Confirmations,Input Count,Output Count,Amount (BCH),Amount Fiat (USD) at transaction timestamp,BCH to USD rate at transaction timestamp,Fees (BCH),Size (kB),Input List (BCH),Output List (BCH)
30-May-2018 22:44:22 UTC+01:00,e93cc89d349fc3754f0cb99069d6e1bafcb588a13b38ff40f2fafef2c3a343cd,73,1,2,0.05957230,58.68,985.05,0.0000561,0.373,"36XkQ4LpeMXnwTdeSNteVtVcx2Cn4rC6GL (-0.17330865)","1AkvKESvquHcA9xtD11eGv1A42oeiNeDYM (+0.05957230)
3EA184uJPHU14kF1m3UX47GPfknsnGPRGU (+0.11368025)"

Feedback received from Simplex support team:
It would be more helpful to contact your wallet software provider's support team and see if they are able to help you.
https://explorer.bitcoin.com/bch/address/1AkvKESvquHcA9xtD11eGv1A42oeiNeDYM
It's also sounds like you provided your BTC address rather then BCH address.

[LoyceV]

There's good and bad news:
The bad news is, you fell for Bitcoin.com's little scam, where they pretend Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is Bitcoin (BTC).
In reality, Bitcoin Cash is a Bitcoin Fork, and they try to overtake Bitcoin for their own financial gain.
The good news is, you can access your Bitcoin Cash, and sell it (I recommend https://shapeshift.io ) for real Bitcoins.
Note that Bitcoin is worth much more than Bitcoin Cash, so you'll get a smaller amount (with the same value, minus fees).

I'm not sure what Simplex.com's roll in this is, but I don't think you need them for further steps. What you need to do, is export the private key from address 1AkvKESvquHcA9xtD11eGv1A42oeiNeDYM in Electrum, import it into a wallet that supports Bitcoin Cash, and your funds will show up. The next step would be to sell it for real Bitcoin, but I'd say take one step at a time. There's no use for me typing a longer story if you get stuck at step 1.
I personally don't trust any Bitcoin Cash software, so be very careful when you install it. Also, after exporting the private key, you should label that address as COMPROMISED and never use it again. Electrum provides more than one address, use another address to receive Bitcoin.

It can be a bit tricky if you're unsure what you're doing, but we're here to help

[buwaytress]

Yeah, no need to proceed with Simplex (that's the credit card processor used by Bitcoin.com). Payment's processed and the BCH already sent. Loyce gives you everything you need to work it out (export private key for use in BCH wallet).

I would add that if it's a lot of BCH, you could scout around for better rates. Shapeshift's really good in that it's as quick as you could expect from an exchange, but they don't have a very good rate - at least, not in my experience.

Condolences for falling for that evil trick by Bitcoin.com. I thought they'd changed some of their wording after all the backlash to their misinterpretation of Bitcoin.

[LoyceV]

I would add that if it's a lot of BCH

It's 0.0595723 BCH, worth about $55.
In Bitcoin, it will be just under 0.008 BTC (8 mBTC) at current rates.

[HCP]

The support person from Simplex.com (see below) says this was the BTC address, rather than the BCH address I was supposed to have provided. Is the money now missing or can I trace it somehow?

Not so much missing as simply misplaced

I don’t know what the BCH address is or how to find it. I have an Electrum bitcoin wallet

BCH and BTC legacy addresses (the one's that start with a "1") are interchangeable... So the address you provided will also work with a "Bitcoin Cash" wallet... it's just you are currently using a "Bitcoin" (only) wallet... ie. Electrum.

If you want easy and fast access to your BCH... I would recommend that you use the "Bitcoin Cash" version of Electrum called "Electron Cash"... you can get it here: https://electroncash.org/#download

It is basically a clone of Electrum designed to work with Bitcoin Cash. Using ElectronCash you will be able to open your currently wallet file, with the same addresses etc and see the BCH. You will need to make a copy of the wallet file... it should be in ~/.electrum/wallets as per the instructions here: http://docs.electrum.org/en/latest/faq.html#where-is-my-wallet-file-located

You can copy the "default_wallet" file to ~/.electroncash/wallets and then start ElectronCash and you should see your BCH

[aleksej996]

You gave the right address, you just received the wrong coins. They should've warned you that what they call Bitcoin isn't what rest of the world calls Bitcoin.

[DannyHamilton]

Description of Problem: I bought bitcoin via Bitcoin.com,

As many people have pointed out, you got caught in the middle of a battle between two crypto-currency advocate groups and the resulting confusion is why you aren't seeing your money.

Some useful knowledge for the future...

BITCOIN started in the year 2009.  At that time (and all the way until half way through the year 2017) there was only one viable cryptocurrency called "bitcoin".  As such, both the bitcoin.ORG website and the bitcoin.COM websites would have given you information and access to the same type of bitcoins.

In mid 2017 there was an inability to reach a consensus on new changes to the bitcoin system.  The owner of the bitcoin.COM sided with those that implemented some changes resulting in a split of the system.  The result is two VERY SIMILAR but INCOMPATIBLE cryptocurrencies.  The currency that was supported by the owner of the bitcoin.COM has become known as BITCOIN CASH.  The currency that is still supported by the owner of bitcoin.ORG is most commonly just called BITCOIN (although some will refer to it as BITCOIN CORE.

However, those that support and believe in the legitimacy of the BITCOIN CASH system think of their system as the "real" Bitcoin. They will often refer to their system as "BITCOIN" instead of "BITCOIN CASH".  In some cases, the confusion is unintentional.  In some cases it is intentional, but not malicious. In some cases, it is malicious and intentional.

So, what you purchased was "BITCOIN CASH" from the bitcoin.COM, but then you tried to send it to a wallet that operates on the system supported by bitcoin.ORG.  There are so many similarities between the two systems that the sending service wasn't able to determine that the address you provided was from the other system, so it just sent the BITCOIN CASH coins and assumed you'd be able to access them.  Meanwhile the wallet that you are using doesn't operate on the Bitcoin Cash system, so it is unable to see or access the coins itself.

The two systems are similar enough that if you can figure out how to export the private key from the Bitcoin wallet, and then import that same private key into a Bitcoin Cash wallet, the Bitcoin Cash wallet will be able to see and access the coins.

After that, you'll need to decide whether you want to keep the Bitcoin Cash coins, or if you want to exchange them for the Bitcoins of the other system.  That decision will depend on why you acquired them and what you are planning on using them for, as well as your personal opinion about how you feel about each of the systems and their supporters.