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How to look up a Bitcoin transaction

BEGINNER2 min readUpdated

Find any Bitcoin transaction by its txid, read its status, fee and confirmations, and learn what to do when a transaction can't be found or is stuck.

Find the txid

Your wallet shows a transaction ID (64 hex characters) for every payment. It may be labelled "transaction hash" or "txid". Copy it into an explorer's search.

What to check

  1. Status: unconfirmed, or how many confirmations.
  2. Outputs: is the right amount going to the right address?
  3. Fee rate: if it's unconfirmed, compare with current estimates. Too low? See Replace-by-fee (RBF) or Child pays for parent (CPFP).
Once it's in a block, confirmations grow with every new blockYour tx1 conf.+12 conf.+23 conf.+34 conf.+45 conf.+56 conf.each new block on top adds one confirmationabout 10 minutes per block on average · 6 confirmations is roughly an hour
Once it's in a block, confirmations grow with every new block

"Transaction not found"

  • It hasn't reached that explorer's node yet: wait a moment.
  • It was replaced by another version (RBF), so it has a new txid.
  • It was dropped from mempools for a low fee. Your coins are still yours.
  • For old confirmed transactions, a node needs an index to find one by txid alone. MyBitcoinExplorer runs a full address and transaction index, so any confirmed txid opens directly.
EXAMPLE

Try one

Open the pizza transaction from 2010: 131 inputs, one 10,000 BTC output, and a 0.99 BTC fee.

Stuck transaction checklist

  1. Search the txid: is it still unconfirmed?
  2. Compare its fee rate with our current estimates.
  3. If it's yours and your wallet allows it, bump the fee with RBF.
  4. If you're receiving, spend the incoming output with CPFP.
  5. If you can do neither, wait: it will confirm when demand drops, or drop out of mempools after two weeks.

Try a famous one

The 2010 pizza transaction opens directly from its txid: search a1075db55d416d3ca199f55b6084e2115b9345e16c5cf302fc80e9d5fbf5d48d.

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Key takeaways

  • Search by txid to see status, outputs and fee.
  • A missing transaction may be pending, replaced or dropped, not lost.
  • Old transactions need a txid index or the block hash.

Common questions

How long until my transaction shows up?

Usually seconds after broadcast. Confirmation takes until the next block that includes it.

Can I find a transaction by amount?

Not directly in most explorers. Search by txid, address or block.

How do I check if a Bitcoin payment arrived?

Search the txid or your receiving address on MyBitcoinExplorer and check the status and confirmations.

Can I cancel a Bitcoin transaction?

Only before it confirms, by replacing it with RBF, if your wallet supports it.