Buying nfts can feel overwhelming and getting a stuck transaction in your Coinbase Wallet can make for a rough experience, especially if it’s your first time. So, we put together a step-by-step guide on fixing a stuck transaction on the blockchain.
It starts with getting a deeper understanding of how gas fees work and what causes a nft transaction to get stuck in the first place.
Let’s dive in.
Why do transactions stay pending in your Coinbase Wallet?
A pending transaction remains stuck when demand on the blockchain network is high, causing higher than average gas fees, and miners prioritize other transactions before yours.
An excellent example of how this works is thinking about how it doesn’t work.
For example, if you were to go to a restaurant, it’s a ‘first-come, first server’ environment, so those who arrive early have a higher chance of getting seated to eat first because more open tables are available.
However, the blockchain is a ‘highest bidder, gets served first’ environment.
Gas Fees Determines When Transactions Get Completed
Blockchain collectors on these marketplaces, such as Open Sea, all bid with a transaction and offer ‘gas fees’ to miners to take mint your NFT. Those who pay the maximum ‘gas fees’ will get their transactions mined first, and it’s up to the bidder to determine how much ‘gas fees’ they are willing to pay.
Gas Fee = Gas Cost x Avg. Gas Price x ETH Price.
Always check the gas fees before putting in your transaction to get priority. Learn ‘How to check gas fees’ quickly.
Additionally, gas fees have a low, medium, and high number you can use as a point of reference during that time to make sure you win the bid in getting the transaction to go through.
You can also change the ‘max’ limit of what you’re willing to pay in ‘gas fees’ before you place the transaction.
However, sometimes collectors change the ‘max’ limit of ‘gas fees’ too low cause their transaction to become ‘Pending.’
Here’s what you need to know when setting a transaction using gas fees.
- Gas fees are in Gwei.
- The nonce is the index number that the transaction records and continues to increase every time you make a new transaction in your crypto wallet.
What does a pending transaction in Coinbase wallet mean?
Pending transaction in Coinbase suggests the network is congested, which means demand for miners to process transactions exceeds supply rising ‘gas fees.’
Your transaction will take longer than usual to process when gas fees increase more than the max amount you originally bided. However, once gas fees reduce miners will find your transaction and process it.
How long does a pending transaction take on Coinbase?
On average, it can take up to 5 days before a transaction completes on the blockchain.
Let’s look at the options you have:
1. Wait it out
The majority of the time, when you a stuck transaction in Coinbase, you have to wait until gas fees reduce down to average numbers, and miners will pick up your transaction to process it.
Also, it’s common for Coinbase to send a note when your transaction has failed.
If a transaction fails, it’s likely due to insufficient funds in the crypto wallet or not enough gas fees to process the transaction.
For example, Open Sea will explain when a transaction has failed.
While waiting may feel frustrating due to not knowing when the transaction will complete or if it will fail, you may feel inclined to try resubmitting the transaction.
2. Replace a second transaction
It’s important to remember you can only do one transaction at a time.
The step for replacing a transaction requires sending $0.01 using your Coinbase wallet to your own Coinbase wallet address. After that, you can adjust and change the gas fees (in Gwei) associated with that transaction.
During the trade window, go to the widget settings button and click ‘custom,’ then change the ‘gas limit’ and the ‘nonce.’
Watch this YouTube video for more details:
3. Sign out of your wallet
There’s some risk to using this option because it requires that you remember your seed phrase as there’s no way to recover it if you can’t log back in.
Always your backup seed phrase in a secure location, either digitally or physically.
How do you know if your transaction is pending?
Once you’ve made a bid on Open Sea or through other marketplaces, you’ll find that the transaction will say it’s processing.
If you go into your Coinbase wallet, you can also check the recent transaction and confirm that it’s pending.
Additionally, if the transaction takes more than 10 minutes, it’s likely in the ‘pending’ status.
What do you do when your Coinbase wallet transaction is pending for days?
When your Coinbase wallet transaction becomes stuck for multiple days, start by checking to see if your gas fees are lower than what’s needed to process the transaction. If you do not have enough funds in your wallet, this can also cause a failure in the transaction processing.
Also, determine if you need to adjust your mining fees and replace the transaction with a second transaction. If both don’t work, consider reaching out to Coinbase support for assistance.
Remember, Coinbase employees won’t be able to make a transaction on your behalf; however, they can take a look at the digital ledger and determine your next steps.
Lastly, reach out to your fellow discord community members for advice. Although, be careful with who you listen to and always do you double-check before taking action.
Can you speed up transactions in your Coinbase wallet?
Adjusting miner fees (gas fees) will speed up your transaction. Coinbase wallet allows nft buyers to adjust their gas fees by sending transactions to their wallet address.
Use https://etherscan.io/gastracker to see how much gwei is needed to achieve Low, Medium, or High fees. It’s in both gwei and USD, so you can understand how much it’ll cost to process the transaction.
Other blockchains that do not run on Ethereum may not require gas fees, such as Wax Blockchain.
Can you cancel transactions in your Coinbase wallet?
Unfortunately, there’s no way to cancel or clear a transaction on the blockchain. Furthermore, once a transaction starts, it cannot be altered in any form and remains on the blockchain, which prevents merchants from taking on risks when accepting digital currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, etc.
However, instead, you can overwrite your transaction, which is not the same as canceling or altering the existing one.
Why Setting Custom Gas Fees Max Works Best
Prevention can save a lot of frustration when dealing with a stuck transaction in Coinbase on the blockchain.
We recommend starting your nft buying process with a clear budget in mind for gas fees, analyzing the correct times for when buying a nft to reduce gas fees, and setting a high gas fee max to get priority.
Like the restaurant example, if you can pay to skip the line or wait, it can be worth it.
For highly desired in-demand nfts, it’s good to save some money for gas fees ahead of time, which is a lesson that most new nfts collectors take to heart after dealing with gas fees, preventing the sale from clearing.
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