Network facts
Crypto transaction pending or stuck?
A pending transaction has been sent and not yet made final: it is waiting to get into a block, or it is in a block and the network is still building on top of it. The first can take as long as the fee is low; the second takes the network’s confirmation time. This page says what each looks like on each network, what Unheld shows meanwhile, and what can be done.
Two kinds of pending
Before inclusion: the transaction is broadcast and sits in the network’s queue — Bitcoin’s mempool, an EVM network’s pending pool — until a block includes it. A fee below what the network currently charges is what keeps it there, and that wait has no upper bound.
After inclusion: the transaction is in a block and the network is adding blocks on top of it. Each new block is a confirmation; a payment is final when there are enough of them. That wait is the network’s confirmation time and is predictable.
What Unheld shows
A payment Unheld has seen but that has not reached the invoice’s confirmation depth shows as detected on first sight and then confirming as the depth builds; it shows as confirmed once the depth is reached, and only then is the invoice paid. On Bitcoin, a transaction Unheld’s node has seen in the mempool is listed on the pay page as pending before any block includes it, for information only: nothing is counted until it is in a block.
The invoice stays open until it expires. A payment that reaches its depth after the invoice expired is still credited if it arrives within a grace window, and the invoice is marked paid late; after that window it is held for review rather than credited.
What makes a transaction stuck, and what to do
On Bitcoin and the EVM networks, a fee below the going rate. The payer’s wallet can usually replace the transaction with a higher fee (Bitcoin’s replace-by-fee, an EVM speed-up) or, on Bitcoin, a child transaction can pay for both. Nothing the merchant does moves it: the fee is set by the sender.
On Tron, a transfer that would run out of energy or bandwidth fails rather than waits: the payer’s wallet reports it, and sending again with enough resource is the fix. On the XRP Ledger a payment is accepted or refused within seconds; one offered below the current ledger cost is queued or dropped, and the wallet resubmits.
A transaction that is pending in a wallet but visible nowhere else may never have been broadcast; the wallet’s own retry is the fix. Once a transaction id appears on a block explorer, the transaction exists and the explorer shows its state.
Pending, network by network
| Network | Before inclusion | After inclusion |
|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin | In the mempool; Unheld lists a sighting on the pay page, uncounted | Confirming until the invoice’s depth is reached |
| Ethereum | In the pending pool until a block includes it | Confirming until the invoice’s depth is reached |
| Base | In the pending pool until a block includes it | Confirming until the invoice’s depth is reached |
| Polygon PoS | In the pending pool until a block includes it | Confirming until the invoice’s depth is reached |
| BNB Chain | In the pending pool until a block includes it | Confirming until the invoice’s depth is reached |
| Lisk | In the pending pool until a block includes it | Confirming until the invoice’s depth is reached |
| Tron | Accepted or failed within seconds; a failed transfer never pends | Confirming until the invoice’s depth is reached |
| XRP Ledger | Accepted or refused within seconds; a low-cost payment is queued | Final once its ledger is validated |
Questions about pending transactions
Why is my crypto transaction pending?
Either it has not been included in a block yet — usually because its fee is below what the network is charging — or it is included and the network is still confirming it. A block explorer shows which, by its transaction id.
Why is my Polygon transaction stuck?
Almost always the gas price it offered is below what the network is accepting right now. Replacing it from the wallet with a higher gas price is the fix; the fee page for Polygon shows the live rate.
What does an unconfirmed transaction mean for my order?
The invoice shows the payment as detected or confirming and stays unpaid until the network has confirmed it to the depth the invoice requires. The merchant should not release goods before then.
Can Unheld speed up a pending payment?
No. The fee is set by the sender’s wallet, and only the sender can replace the transaction. Unheld watches and credits; it never holds or moves the money.