Identifying the Off Ramp for a Disputed Business Payment
Two former business partners disputed whether a cryptocurrency payment made as part of a settlement had actually reached the intended party's exchange account, or been diverted elsewhere.
The Situation
Two former business partners disputed whether a cryptocurrency payment made as part of a settlement had actually reached the intended party's exchange account, or been diverted elsewhere.
The Challenge
The paying party's records showed only the outbound transaction identifier, with no visibility into what happened to the funds after they left their wallet.
The Investigation
We followed the payment through one intermediate wallet before it reached a deposit address, and confirmed the deposit's timing against the receiving party's own account activity claims.
Findings
The payment was confirmed to have reached a wallet cluster associated with a specific regulated exchange, consistent with the receiving party's stated account.
Outcome
The confirmation directly informed the settlement discussion between counsel for both parties, resolving the factual dispute over whether payment had occurred.
Lessons
A disputed payment's on chain record is often the fastest way to resolve a factual disagreement, well before formal legal discovery would otherwise produce an answer.
Paying Wallet
Source of the disputed settlement payment.
Facing a similar situation?
Every case is scoped on its own facts. Tell us what happened.