Avoid Losing Funds: Why Aptos and Sui Addresses Are Not Interchangeable Despite Similar Formats

On July 4th, cybersecurity firm SlowMist Cosine issued a critical advisory highlighting the incompatibility between Sui and Aptos blockchain addresses. Users must exercise caution when transferring digital assets, as the private key of a Sui address cannot generate a corresponding Aptos address, and vice versa. This distinction means that funds sent mistakenly from Aptos to a Sui address are irretrievable, resulting in permanent loss. The underlying cause stems from differing address derivation protocols despite sharing the same seed phrase, producing unique addresses for each blockchain. Both address formats, however, appear valid during transactions, typically starting with 0x and comprising 66 characters. This advisory underscores the importance of verifying destination addresses to prevent irreversible asset loss within the evolving multi-chain ecosystem.