The state everybody meets while refreshing a balance, and the state that talks people into a second payment.
- What it literally says
- The payment has been broadcast but not yet settled.
- What it actually means
- It exists on the network and is waiting to be included. Nothing is wrong at this stage and nothing needs doing.
- What it does not mean
- That it has failed, that it has been lost, or that sending again will help. Sending again produces two payments rather than one faster one.
- What to do
- Wait. First confirmation usually lands within a couple of minutes and the balance appears roughly ten minutes after.
- If it looks different
- Still unconfirmed after a long stretch usually means a fee set too low, which is easy to do when entering one by hand.
CommonEvery deposit
Needs actionWait
Warning signSending a second payment
Expected timings
| Stage | Roughly |
|---|---|
| Broadcast to first confirmation | About two minutes |
| First confirmation to a visible balance | About ten minutes |
| Worth investigating | After twenty minutes |
| Worth asking anybody | After an hour, with the transaction details ready |
Check your own wallet first
- Is it confirmed, and how many times. Unconfirmed after a long wait usually points at the fee.
- Which destination did it go to. Compare against the deposit page open now, not the one you remember.
- Was that destination current. An address from an old session is a common cause and it looks like nothing is wrong.
- Did the full amount leave. Fee handling occasionally surprises people who set it manually.
The reaction that makes it worseNever send a second payment to fix the first. It turns one stuck transaction into two, accelerates nothing, and leaves you explaining a more complicated situation than you started with.
Why it feels worse than it is
Because there is nothing to look at. A blank period with no information invites you to invent explanations, and every explanation you invent is worse than the truth. This is the same shape as an order state that has not moved, and the same answer applies: note the time, and give it the interval before deciding anything.