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Crypto payment states: detected, confirming, paid

A crypto invoice moves through four states, and only the last one means you have been paid.

A payment is created, then seen, then buried under enough blocks to be considered final. Each step is a separate webhook, because each one means something different to your order system.

The gap between confirming and paid is the one that costs money. A transaction sitting in a block has not been undone — but it can be, if the chain reorganises and that block is dropped. Releasing goods when the payment is merely confirming means releasing them against a transaction that can still disappear.

The lifecycle, in order

  1. invoice.created — The invoice exists and a receive address is locked to it. Nothing has been sent.
  2. invoice.receiving — A payment has been seen on the network but is not yet in a block.
  3. invoice.confirming — The payment is in a block and gathering confirmations. It is not final.
  4. invoice.paid — The payment reached the confirmation threshold for its network. This is the only state that means paid.

The states that are not "paid"

  • invoice.underpaid — Less arrived than the invoice asked for. Further payments accumulate against it.
  • invoice.overpaid — More arrived than the invoice asked for. The surplus is already on your address.
  • invoice.expired — The window closed before the payment arrived.

Common questions

What does “confirming” mean on a crypto invoice?

It means the payment has been seen on-chain but has not yet been buried under enough blocks to be treated as final. The money is real and visible; the guarantee that it cannot be undone is still being earned.

When is it safe to release goods?

Only once the invoice reads paid. Detected and confirming both describe a payment that exists and could still be reversed, which is exactly the window a fraudulent payer relies on.

What happens if a payment never reaches the paid state?

The invoice expires and the order is not completed, but anything that did arrive is already on your own address. Direct settlement means an unfinished invoice never leaves your money somewhere you cannot reach it.

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