Yes you can. If you send tokens to your ZERO using a chain/network that is not supported on the ZERO, these tokens are not lost. They can be spent with the private key of your wallet, but because the network is not yet supported on the ZERO you can’t do this.
For now, only tokens on the ERC20 and EGLD network are supported on ZERO. Support for tokes on other chains will be added in the future. Be aware that other EVM-based chains like BSC and POLYGON use the same address format as ERC20 tokens. This makes it possible to send your tokens to a correct address but over a network that is not supported. Your transactions will not show on ZERO unless you use the ERC20 or ESDT network.
In short, to recover these tokens you will need to:
- Recover your backup in a wallet that supports the network you used.
- Send the tokens back to an exchange, using the same network.
- From the exchange, send the tokens to your ZERO using the correct network.
- Consider creating a new wallet on your ZERO, so you have the ‘coldest wallet’ again.
We’ll go through each of these steps in detail below.
In the last paragraph of this article, we’ll explain how you can mitigate this.
I) If needed, convert your 64-character ‘Perfect Key’ to a 24 word seed
On the ZERO, you can easily see both versions of your key. Go to Settings → Display secret key, enter your PIN code and then select Mnemonic or NGRAVE wallet.
In a situation you don't have access to your ZERO, you can easily convert this yourself, using the right tools. We have a guide with detailed steps on how to do that here: Can I convert the NGRAVE "Perfect Key" to 24 words?
The most important thing to keep in mind here, is to download the tool and to never fill in your private key on the website.
II) Import your 24 word seed in a wallet that supports the network you used
There are a few things to keep in mind when you decide which wallet you want to recover your seed in:
- The wallet should support the network/chain that you used to send the tokens.
- You can use any wallet that supports importing a 24 word seed.
- If you have another ‘cold’ or hardware wallet, that is preferred.
Importing the seed of your ZERO in a ‘hot’ wallet (= a wallet connected to the internet) will turn your wallet into a ‘hot’ wallet too.
In step 4 below, we’ll explain how to mitigate this.
A good multi-chain wallet that supports importing 24 word seeds is Trust Wallet. They have a tutorial here on how to import a 24 word recovery phrase. Make sure to import a ‘multi-Coin Wallet’. After importing your seed, you can add the tokens on the network that you used and you should see them.
Converting your tokens from one network to another is called bridging. There are different ways of doing this, but using an exchange is by far the easiest method.
After importing your seed into another wallet, you can simply send them back to your exchange. Keep in mind that you will need the native coin of that network to pay for the gas fee. For example: if you sent USDC over the Polygon/Matic network, you’ll need some Matic in the wallet to pay for the gas fee.
Before proceeding with this step, make sure you read step 4 first. You might want to create a new wallet on your ZERO first.
Converting tokens to another chain is easy on an exchange. You can just send them to your ZERO address and make sure to select the ERC20 (Ethereum) network for your transaction.
A crucial feature of the ZERO is that it is offline and your private keys never leave the ZERO. If you have imported your 24 word seed into a ‘hot’ wallet (= a wallet connected to the internet), then you don’t have your coins in ‘cold’ storage anymore.
This doesn’t mean that your funds are now insecure, but you don’t have a benefit of using that ZERO anymore.
To mitigate this, we recommend creating a new wallet on your ZERO and transfer all your funds to this new wallet. This new wallet will then be a ‘coldest wallet’ again. This will cost you some transaction fees and you will need a new lower plate for your GRAPHENE to make a new backup.