What cryptocurrency wallets do exchanges use

To begin with, let’s note that cryptocurrency exchanges can use anywhere from one to a virtually unlimited number of addresses to receive digital assets, with the situation changing depending on the coin or token chosen.

If there are few addresses, then the cryptocurrency exchange will ask the user to specify a unique destination tag, or so-called memo, when sending coins to the platform. This is a specific combination of numbers and letters that will allow the exchange to receive the deposit and credit it to the user’s account. In this case exchange can receive deposits in the same address for all users, but each of them will have a different memo.

If an exchange uses many addresses, then users will simply see their combination without any additional tags. It looks like this.

And here is the window for specifying the destination tag when sending cryptocurrencies from the already familiar Ledger hardware wallet.

If the exchange does not require you to enter a memo, then this field can be left blank.

Why crypto exchanges are changing addresses

Today, 2Bitcon’s Telegram chat readers reported receiving a notification from cryptocurrency exchange Binance. The email with the subject line “Notice of deposit address expiring” announced the disabling of certain addresses. The letter looks like this.

And here’s a quote from the message.

As part of improvements to our technology infrastructure, which is necessary to improve service and security, we will be removing some existing deposit addresses. Your ETH deposit address will be removed 2023-04-21 08:50:13 UTC.


It is important to understand that addresses similar to an address on the Etherium network are used in other blockchains that are compatible with the Etherium Virtual Machine (EVM). In this case, this affects tokens AMB, ARBITRUM, AVAXC, BSC, CELO, CHZ, CTXC, ETC, ETH, FTM, GLMR, KLAY, MATIC, MOVR, OPTIMISM, REI, RON, RSK, THETA, TOMO, VET, WAN, WTC and XDAI. Accordingly users of the latter should also be aware of the changes.


It is recommended that you use the updated addresses in your email, and do so as soon as possible.

Note that cryptocurrency exchanges regularly update deposit addresses. For example, Binance did the same back in May 2022. At that time, it was noted that the exchange was “upgrading the wallet infrastructure to improve its efficiency and security”, whereby the platform would stop “supporting the current deposit and memo addresses for certain networks”.

So the bottom line is that all of this is needed for a smoother user interaction with the trading platform. Perhaps the latter has changed the way it stores customers’ coins and is using a different wallet solution to do so. All in all, there are likely to be other reasons for the change, which exchanges’ representatives may well not disclose for security reasons.

What a user should do when changing an address on a cryptocurrency exchange

So, let’s say you received such a notification from an exchange. In that case, what you do next depends on how you use the platform. For example, if you receive cryptocurrency transfers from people you know every week, then you should tell them your new address – quickly.

If you occasionally fund your own account for trading, then you should use a new address next time instead of taking it from your transfer history, for example.

Finally, if you are just trading on an exchange with coins in its wallet and don’t plan to fund it, you don’t need to do anything.

If you wish, you can not wait for the address change date and get it in advance manually by pressing the appropriate button in the interface of the crypto exchange. In this case all the changes can be implemented at a convenient moment.

What a miner should do when changing the address at a crypto exchange

The situation is different with miners, as many of them receive regular remuneration to the wallets of exchanges.

This is especially true for miners at 2Miners pool, which also supports automatic conversion of some coins' rewards to Bitcoin. This means that video cards, for example, can mine Ethereum Classic, but the miner will receive the reward to his wallet exactly in BTC. Read more about this mechanism in a separate article.

If a miner receives rewards on an exchange that changes the address of the wallet he is using, he should take care of the address change beforehand. Let’s imagine that a user is mining Ethereum Classic, and his wallet address changes on April 21 – that is the same as in the email. This means that he can:

• Withdraw the reward in ETC as usual and match it so that by the 20th there are enough coins on the balance to make the payout. Crypto can be withdrawn and then specify a new payout address on the pool;
• Don’t do the math and just don’t withdraw the reward for a while, accumulating more coins than needed for the withdrawal. Then withdraw on the 20th and change the address as well.

You will not be able to change address to pay out already accrued coins, so you have to empty balance first and then change address to receive reward.

What will happen to cryptocurrencies if you change address on exchanger

Nothing will happen to your coins, because they are still stored by the same exchange. Accordingly, you should not transfer cryptocurrencies and tokens to new addresses on your own – nor should you do any manipulations in general.

The coins will remain in your wallet in the same amount. You will be able to interact with them as before.

How not to get hooked by cryptojackers

As a bonus, here are some important safety tips.

• Don’t click on links from emails. In theory, these could be used by scammers, who are skilled at mimicking the design of emails from the cryptocurrency exchange you are using, among other things. If you’re not careful and click on the address in the email, you could end up on a fake website and accidentally leak your username and password combination. You should not do this and it is safer to go to the exchanger’s website from bookmarks in your browser or history;
• Do not copy any addresses for deposits from the emails you receive. Again, this can be done by scammers, who will trivialize their own addresses in the blockchain, and will wait for deposits to their wallets. That’s why you should only copy the depositing addresses from your account on the exchange you use, that is, in the usual way;
• Do not hesitate to check information in support chats on the cryptocurrency exchange website. It is better to spend time and get confirmation from the company’s staff, rather than falling for a scammer’s trick or sending coins to an irrelevant address. In the latter case, there is a chance that you will not be able to get access to your own cryptoassets, which will result in financial losses.