The short answer

Pending means there is no completed onchain result yet. A confirmed failed or reverted transaction executed unsuccessfully and can still consume gas. A rejected preview may never have been broadcast. Check the transaction on the correct network before retrying or trying to cancel it.

Find the transaction on the network that sent it

Open the transaction detail in your wallet or exchange and follow its explorer link. Record the network, transaction hash, sending account, recipient and status. If the explorer reports no record, check that you used the correct chain and complete hash. “Not found” alone cannot tell you whether a request was never broadcast, dropped or is being viewed in the wrong place.

A wallet can also refuse a transaction during estimation or simulation. That is different from a transaction included in a block with a failure result. Avoid treating every red warning as proof that gas was charged; inspect the chain record and account activity.

For a pending transaction, avoid an unrelated duplicate

For supported Ethereum-style transactions, a wallet may offer to speed up or attempt cancellation by submitting a replacement with the same nonce. The replacement competes with the original; cancellation is not guaranteed while the original can still be included. A confirmed transaction cannot be undone through that control.

Use the wallet’s documented workflow rather than repeatedly pressing Send. A new independent payment may later complete as well as the first. MetaMask’s instructions explain its replacement options. If an exchange has not yet broadcast a withdrawal, its own processing and cancellation rules apply instead.

For a failed transaction, find the cause before paying again

A confirmed reverted transaction can consume gas even though its intended state changes do not complete. Network participants performed execution work; the failure does not make that work free. MetaMask explains this fee behavior and distinguishes an out-of-gas error from other failure types.

Read any error or revert reason and identify the operation. An insufficient allowance, expired swap quote and inadequate gas limit are different problems. Raising the fee price does not repair every contract error. For a multi-step flow, examine each transaction: an approval may succeed even if a later swap fails.

Example: an approval and a swap have separate transaction IDs. If the approval succeeded yesterday but today’s swap reverted, the two receipts describe two outcomes. Calling the whole sequence “failed” hides what completed and what you may still need to review.

Successful onchain does not always mean credited

If the explorer shows success but a receiving exchange has no deposit, check its exact token/network support, deposit minimum and confirmation requirements. Record the destination address and token transfer details before contacting its official support channel.

Do not resend solely to test whether the first transfer will appear. The next useful action depends on the evidence: a pending transaction needs status or replacement review; a failed receipt needs its cause addressed; a successful unsupported deposit needs the custodian’s assessment. A status label cannot guarantee that recovery is available.

Frequently asked

What is the difference between pending and failed?

A pending transaction has not been included yet and has moved nothing. A failed transaction was executed and did not succeed, which on most networks still consumes gas because the work was done. The two need completely different responses.

Why did I pay a fee for a transaction that failed?

Because execution consumed resources regardless of the outcome. Validators did the work of running the transaction, and the network charges for that work whether or not the intended operation completed.

My transaction succeeded but my exchange balance has not changed. Why?

A successful transaction means the network processed it. Crediting is a separate step governed by the platform’s confirmation requirements, its review processes, and whether the asset, network and amount were supported.

Before you act

  • Confirm the network and transaction hash.
  • Separate a preview error from a mined failure.
  • Check any replacement transaction and avoid duplicate sends.
  • For a successful uncredited deposit, use the receiving service’s official support.
PUT IT TO USECompare the sending and receiving networks

Sources & further reading

  1. MetaMask: speed up or cancel a transaction

    Pending replacement, nonce reuse and confirmed-transaction limits.

  2. MetaMask: gas on failed transactions

    Execution consumes gas even when the intended operation fails.

  3. Etherscan: dropped and replaced transactions

    Dropped/replaced status differs from a completed failed execution.

  4. Coinbase: unsupported crypto deposits

    An onchain deposit does not establish supported exchange credit or recoverability.

Sources checked on 18 September 2026. Network features and platform support can change; check the relevant provider before acting.

AI-assisted editorial content; no independent expert review or transaction verification is claimed. Tokens and bridges carry issuer, market and smart-contract risks. This is educational information, not investment advice. Read our editorial policy.