How to move crypto off an exchange safely
Withdraw from an exchange to your own wallet without losing it: the right address and network, a test amount first, memos, allowlists and fees, step by step.
Updated Nov 24, 2026
In short
Moving crypto from an exchange to your own wallet is simple, and most losses come from a few avoidable mistakes: the wrong network, a mistyped or swapped address, or a missing memo. Get the receiving address for the exact network from your wallet, send a small test first, check it arrives, then send the rest. Save addresses you use often in the exchange's withdrawal allowlist.
Keeping coins on an exchange means trusting it to give them back. Moving them to a wallet you control removes that risk, as long as the move itself goes right. Here's how to do it without the common mistakes.
Step 1: get the right address for the right network
A token often exists on several networks: USDC on Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Solana and more. The exchange will ask which network to withdraw on. Your wallet must be able to receive on that same network.
In Burokku, the Receive tool gives you the address and QR code for the wallet and network you pick, and warns when a network or token doesn't match the wallet. Copy it from there, or from your wallet's own app, never from an old message or chat.
Step 2: check the address after you paste it
Malware can swap a copied address for the attacker's, and look-alike addresses share the first and last characters. Check several characters in the middle against the source. Burokku's Address book flags look-alike addresses against ones you've saved.
Step 3: add a memo or tag if the network needs one
Some networks and exchanges use a memo, tag or destination ID (XRP, XLM, ATOM and others). When sending to your own wallet you usually don't need one; when sending to another exchange you usually do, and without it the deposit can be lost or stuck.
Step 4: send a small test first
Withdraw a small amount, wait until it arrives, and check it in your wallet or in Burokku, where the Receive tool shows the payment arriving. Then send the rest. The extra network fee is cheap insurance.
Step 5: use the exchange's withdrawal allowlist
Most exchanges let you save withdrawal addresses and allow withdrawals only to those. Turn it on: if someone gets into your exchange account, they can't send your coins to themselves.
After the move
Your wallet now holds the coins, and you hold the keys. Watch it in Burokku alongside the exchange, so both still count in one total. If you're moving to a hardware wallet, see how to track a hardware wallet without exposing its keys.
Questions
- Can Burokku withdraw from my exchange for me?
- No. Burokku's exchange keys can never withdraw or transfer, by design, so a leaked key can't move your money. You withdraw on the exchange itself; Burokku helps you get the receiving side right and shows the money arriving.
- What if I sent on the wrong network?
- Sometimes it can be recovered, sometimes not. If the wallet you sent to controls the same address on the other network (often true between EVM chains), you may be able to reach it by switching networks. If you sent to an exchange's deposit address on a network it doesn't support, contact that exchange's support. Don't send more until you know.