My bitcoins completely disappeared and are gone

[occamsrazor]

Hello. I made a really big mistake today. I transferred funds from my blockchain wallet to my electrum wallet. I had done a practice transfer yesterday with a small amount of money, and everything worked perfectly. So I assumed I'd be able to just copy and paste the wallet address and send the money like normal.

I was really wrong though. I'm not totally sure why, but the money just never showed up. So now I'm out hundreds of dollars that I really desperately needed. I'm so defeated and disappointed right now I can barely bring myself to even bother with any of this.

I was reading something about wallet synchronization, and I'm not sure if that could be the problem. It says that my wallet is not fully synchronized (it has said "synchronizing...3/30" basically since I opened it today with no improvement). Could that have anything to do with it? Is there a way to get the wallet fully synchronized? It's just stuck on 3/30 indefinitely.

Can someone tell me what happened so it doesn't happen again? I hate bitcoins for this exact reason. Something goes wrong...and your money is just fn gone forever. The transaction is on blockchain...so I'm just really not sure what happened. But I'm thinking from now on I'm going to do small transfers in pieces and just move a little bit of money at a time. Losing hundreds of dollars that I couldn't afford to spend in the first place really hurts, and is going to affect my life for the immediate future. I just can't even tell you the effect that losing hundreds of dollars in one shot like that has for a person like me with very little in the first place. 

My wallet address expired 1 hour after the transaction. So it's now expired. Does that have an impact on whether or not my money could ever (even theoretically) get to my wallet?

Most importantly, is there anyone you can go to in a situation like this? Like blockchain or the electrum people? I'm pretty sure I'll never see this money...but I'd like to make sure this never happens again. To be honest this has sorta put me off bitcoin generally...and that sucks because bitcoins are necessary for lots of different types of online transactions.

[1715064282]

1715064282

[AB de Royse777]

I am having a feeling that nothing wrong happened in your case since you are saying your wallet has not synchronized yet.

I was reading something about wallet synchronization, and I'm not sure if that could be the problem. It says that my wallet is not fully synchronized (it has said "synchronizing...3/30" basically since I opened it today with no improvement). Could that have anything to do with it? Is there a way to get the wallet fully synchronized? It's just stuck on 3/30 indefinitely.

Can you share some information?

1. What version of Electrum you are using?
2. Are you okay to share the tx ID of the transfer?

My wild guess is that you are using an old version of Electrum.

[OmegaStarScream]

My wallet address expired 1 hour after the transaction. So it's now expired. Does that have an impact on whether or not my money could ever (even theoretically) get to my wallet?

No, it doesn't. You would still get your funds.

Assuming that you're using an updated version of Electrum, you can try and connect to another server. Click on the green/red button on the bottom right, find another server, right-click it and select "Use as server" then see if that helps.

[bL4nkcode]

Hello. I made a really big mistake today. I transferred funds from my blockchain wallet to my electrum wallet. I had done a practice transfer yesterday with a small amount of money, and everything worked perfectly. So I assumed I'd be able to just copy and paste the wallet address and send the money like normal.

If this is just a syncronization issue, you can check and confirm your funds on blockchain explorer, searching the address you used to received, if there's no outgoing transaction then your funds is still there and you only need to wait untill the syncing's complete, but most probably it doesn't take that long.

[o_e_l_e_o]

Most importantly, is there anyone you can go to in a situation like this? Like blockchain or the electrum people?

If the transaction has been sent from your Blockchain wallet, then there is nothing they can do to help - once the transaction is confirmed, it is irreversible.

First of all, check the transaction on a block explorer such as https://blockchair.com/. Does the address the coins have been sent to match the address from your Electrum wallet? If the address is correct, and blockchair shows the funds on that address, then your funds are safe and the problem is simply with your Electrum client not syncing properly. Don't panic. Try the following steps:

Make sure you are using the latest version of Electrum from https://electrum.org/#download, and that you verified it before installing. Older versions will not sync.
Switch to a different server by following the instructions above from OmegaStarScream.
Try disabling the proxy if one is enabled (Red/Green orb -> Proxy tab)
Check Electrum isn't being blocked by your firewall or VPN if you are using one.

[serjent05]

Older versions will not sync.

I am still using the older version and it sync fine.


@OP can you update us after following the instruction given by the earlier replies?  If you really made a transaction, it should appear on the blockchain, better check if the address you pasted is the same as the address you intended to copy. If there is noting wrong with the receiving address then you will receive the transfer but if it is different then, possibly you are a victim of a malware and sad to say your BTC transfer goes to other wallet.

[Welsh]

Providing us with the bitcoin address might help us identify any issues like how many confirmations, and whether there was a small fee included, although like others are suggesting it sounds like a sync issue, and you're not completely out of luck. Especially, if you're certain you copy, and pasted the correct address.

However, if you don't want to share the Bitcoin address for privacy reasons, then you can follow the instructions of updating your client, and connecting to a new server. Report back to us with your findings.

[Little Mouse]

you can follow the instructions of updating your client

I think there's no need to update his client as he has downloaded the client recently, it's the latest. He also has mentioned about the new option on the latest version, address expiration (which is pretty misleading to the newbies, sometimes olders too). That's not the issue I think.

My wallet address expired 1 hour after the transaction. So it's now expired. Does that have an impact on whether or not my money could ever (even theoretically) get to my wallet?

[Baofeng]

Hello. I made a really big mistake today. I transferred funds from my blockchain wallet to my electrum wallet. I had done a practice transfer yesterday with a small amount of money, and everything worked perfectly. So I assumed I'd be able to just copy and paste the wallet address and send the money like normal.

Isn't just me that the OP might have been fallen to a copy and paste malware?

Clipboard Hijacker Malware Monitors 2.3 Million Bitcoin Addresses

How to lose your Bitcoins with CTRL-C CTRL-V

[BitMaxz]

Adding this
If the solution above after installing the latest version still syncing there is a possibility that your firewall/antivirus is blocking the Electrum from connecting to any online server or your DNS maybe the issue.

Try to turn off your firewall and antivirus if it will work, if not and it still stuck on syncing try to change your DNS you can use these two DNS below.

Code:

Google DNS
8.8.8.8
8.8.4.4

Cloudflare DNS
1.1.1.1
1.0.0.1

Choose any of these Google or Cloudflare DNS.

After you setup reopen the Electrum and check the status if it still sycing(Must be the latest version).

[pixie85]

Hello. I made a really big mistake today. I transferred funds from my blockchain wallet to my electrum wallet. I had done a practice transfer yesterday with a small amount of money, and everything worked perfectly. So I assumed I'd be able to just copy and paste the wallet address and send the money like normal.

Isn't just me that the OP might have been fallen to a copy and paste malware?

Clipboard Hijacker Malware Monitors 2.3 Million Bitcoin Addresses

How to lose your Bitcoins with CTRL-C CTRL-V

It's too early to say.

The first and the most obvious explanation is the wallet update. If he sent a new transaction to the wallet and the wallet is not updated or not connected to a node the transaction will not appear and he will not see the right balance.

Once it's fully updated and the wallet is connected to a node (green light in the right lower corner) we can start looking for other problems.

[Twinkledoe]

Hello. I made a really big mistake today. I transferred funds from my blockchain wallet to my electrum wallet. I had done a practice transfer yesterday with a small amount of money, and everything worked perfectly. So I assumed I'd be able to just copy and paste the wallet address and send the money like normal.

If this is just a syncronization issue, you can check and confirm your funds on blockchain explorer, searching the address you used to received, if there's no outgoing transaction then your funds is still there and you only need to wait untill the syncing's complete, but most probably it doesn't take that long.

Waiting for the reply of the OP here. Because I read also similar situation here in the forum about not seeing their money in electrum after transfer and he was panicking as well. But after few hours he saw his funds in his wallet. So yes, if it is only synchronization issue, his funds should still be there. And he said, he tried small amount at first and went thru. So let's see...

[gurjasmeetsingh]

I can't agree with you. Please check the transactions. If you have been transfer to other wallets.l think your fund is still yet & you will be get it.l think so.

[Kohatiiboy]

I think its all happen because you might used old version.
You can check trx add if it is only synchronized issue. You can also contact blockchain server member.hope you will find best answer there .
I had also lose 40$ by putting  wrong address. And regret there is no solution to cashback.

[EdenHazard]

Hello. I made a really big mistake today. I transferred funds from my blockchain wallet to my electrum wallet. I had done a practice transfer yesterday with a small amount of money, and everything worked perfectly. So I assumed I'd be able to just copy and paste the wallet address and send the money like normal.

Isn't just me that the OP might have been fallen to a copy and paste malware?

Clipboard Hijacker Malware Monitors 2.3 Million Bitcoin Addresses

How to lose your Bitcoins with CTRL-C CTRL-V

The malware has been exist since 2016 , that's where my case occured.

I never knew why i sent bitcoins to that address , everything seems just fine ( i didn't double check it tho) but when i see in the transaction history .. the coins was sent to unknown address which surprised me and i realized that time it's just gone and nothing i can do.
Few days later i found there's malware in my computer that i thought i deleted them but everytime i turn on my computer the same malware notification popping up and so on... I've tried everything by reinstall the whole system but still the malware is there until i decided to just burn the whole cpu due my frustration level has reached its highest.

But it's not the case here i think, i just bring some awareness about this malware tho.
Since op has confirmed he is seeing the confirmation stuck at 3/30 which he do confirm everything is just fine with the desrunatiin address .
Could be just synchronization problem , as the tx id has been confirmed.
I'd suggest to do what bitmaxz suggested to change the DNS.

[leeboy]

Newbies should use simpler wallets than electrum. There are a lot of great alternatives

[SquirrelJulietGarden]

Newbies should use simpler wallets than electrum. There are a lot of great alternatives

Simpler? What are simpler wallets than Electrum? Please help me with your list of simpler wallets.

In crypto, safety and control of private keys/ mnemonic seed are the most important factors when you choose a wallet to use. No one need to use a simpler wallet but you don't own private keys or mnemonic seed of that wallet.

Non-custodial wallets are better than custodial wallets.

Not your keys, not your bitcoin.

[FinneysTrueVision]

You can try asking for help on https://reddit.com/r/electrum. The devs are usually active on there.

[AB de Royse777]

The malware has been exist since 2016 , that's where my case occured.

I never knew why i sent bitcoins to that address , everything seems just fine ( i didn't double check it tho) but when i see in the transaction history .. the coins was sent to unknown address which surprised me and i realized that time it's just gone and nothing i can do.
Few days later i found there's malware in my computer that i thought i deleted them but everytime i turn on my computer the same malware notification popping up and so on... I've tried everything by reinstall the whole system but still the malware is there until i decided to just burn the whole cpu due my frustration level has reached its highest.

Having this in mind, I have two versions of wallets.
-One never gone online which has the coins I rarely use, it's just a cold wallet.
- And the other version is in the online device which I use for day to day needs.

Even with the antivirus installed in your system, you still do not know what programs are running behind and which one is harmful to you. I have never been in this kind of situation yet don't wish to fall to it too. We all need to pay serious attention of the security of handling cryptocurrency. Most of the time the mistake happens because the user forget to double-check the address.

Newbies should use simpler wallets than electrum. There are a lot of great alternatives

Simpler? What are simpler wallets than Electrum? Please help me with your list of simpler wallets.

In crypto, safety and control of private keys/ mnemonic seed are the most important factors when you choose a wallet to use. No one need to use a simpler wallet but you don't own private keys or mnemonic seed of that wallet.

Non-custodial wallets are better than custodial wallets.

Not your keys, not your bitcoin.

Usually my limit of sending merit to a post is 5 but in your case I thought to send out more just to help you out and with this hope that you make posts like this very often.

@leeboy, mind mentioning some wallets that you think is simpler than electrum? I doubt there are any except some custodial wallet which comes with obvious cost.

[Simakura]

What, why did it happen like that.