No, you can’t alter crypto transactions once they’ve been made. These transactions are set in stone, or rather, very secure blocks.
Well, why not?
Glad you asked! Cryptocurrencies were created to be a digital and decentralised way to make payments, independently of central authorities such as banks. But in reality, there are a few bad players who might try to take advantage of the decentralised nature of the network to commit fraud.
To ensure that people could trade with a degree of certainty, without the need for verification from banks or government entities, cryptocurrency transactions were made to be irreversible by design. This means that merchants don’t have to worry about people making transactions then reversing their payments after receiving goods.
So how do crypto transactions work?
All crypto transactions are made and stored permanently on a public ledger called a blockchain. The blockchain network is made up of users, called miners, who use cryptography to verify transactions. So once you’ve pressed send, a miner will take your unique transaction, along with others, solve the coded request and then verify it.
But many hands make the blockchain work, so each transaction needs to be verified by multiple nodes (or computers) before it is confirmed as legitimate and added as part of a new block on the blockchain.
Since the blockchain is a public ledger, can’t I simply request my funds back from the person I sent them to?
Unfortunately not. While all transactions on the blockchain are public, the personal identities of the people sending and receiving cryptocurrencies remain hidden. Unless you know the individual you transferred cryptocurrency to outside of the network, you can’t make contact with them.
Tip
Whenever possible, try to copy and paste wallet addresses using your computer or mobile device’s clipboard. This will ensure that the address is correct and the payment will reach the right place.
To learn more about cryptocurrencies and transacting safely, have a look at some of the articles in these categories: