Everything you need to know about how to either accelerate or replace your stuck pending Bitcoin (BTC) transaction.
Need a crypto wallet that gives you full control of your assets? You can download Exodus here.
In this article:
Is my Bitcoin transaction stuck?
Your wallet automatically calculates the optimal network transaction fee when you send a transaction. However, if there is a sudden spike in network congestion, or if you set a custom fee that is too low, it's possible for your Bitcoin transaction to get stuck.
You can confirm if your Bitcoin transaction is stuck by comparing the fee you paid with the current fee rate on a block explorer.
You can learn more about how to read a transaction on a block explorer here: How do I read a transaction on a block explorer?
Locate and copy the transaction ID of the pending Bitcoin transaction. To learn how to do this, see our guide: How do I find a transaction ID?
Go to the block explorer Mempool.space. a) Paste the transaction ID, and b) click the search icon.
If your transaction is still pending, a) the status will be shown as Unconfirmed. b) Check the fee rate for your transaction and c) the estimated block your transaction will confirm in (white arrow). If your transaction is stuck because it was sent with a low fee, you will see that it is not included in any of the blocks estimated to be confirmed soon.
There can be times when Bitcoin blocks can take longer to confirm, which can delay a transaction even if it was sent with a high fee. If your transaction is estimated to be confirmed in the next block, you must wait for the next block to confirm.
You can confirm the current transaction fees on the Bitcoin network by a) clicking on the mempool.space icon to. From here, b) you can view the current transaction fee estimates.
If the fees for your transaction are low and have Low Priority or No Priority, then it could be stuck pending for a while. In this case, you might be able to accelerate your transaction by paying a little more BTC as a transaction fee.
How do I accelerate a stuck Bitcoin transaction?
If you set your custom fee too low or there is a sudden spike in network fees, your transaction might get stuck pending.
If this happens, you can accelerate the transaction with either replace-by-fee (RBF) or a child-pays-for-parent (CPFP) transaction.
In Exodus Mobile and Desktop, you can accelerate with RBF or CPFP with the accelerate button. To learn more, jump to: How do I accelerate a transaction in Exodus?
You'll need some Bitcoin (BTC) in your wallet to pay the extra transaction fee. Accelerating a transaction can be more expensive than a regular transaction fee.
Currently, the ability to accelerate a BTC transaction is available in Mobile and Desktop.
If you don't see the accelerate button and are unable to accelerate with Exodus, you can try accelerating with ViaBTC.
How do I accelerate a transaction in Exodus?
You can use the accelerate feature to accelerate your pending transaction by paying a higher fee.
Depending on how it was sent, the accelerate feature will either use RBF or CPFP to speed up your transaction.
Mobile
You'll need some Bitcoin (BTC) in your wallet to pay the extra transaction fee. Accelerating a transaction can be more expensive than a regular transaction fee.
Currently, the ability to accelerate a BTC transaction is available in Mobile and Desktop.
Open your Bitcoin wallet and tap on the transaction that is stuck pending.
a) You'll see the amount of BTC needed to accelerate your transaction. To proceed, b) tap Accelerate.
To confirm, tap Accelerate.
Your transaction should be confirmed shortly.
Desktop
You'll need some Bitcoin (BTC) in your wallet to pay the extra transaction fee. Accelerating a transaction can be more expensive than a regular transaction fee.
Currently, the ability to accelerate a BTC transaction is available in Mobile and Desktop.
Open your Bitcoin wallet and click the arrow next to the transaction that is stuck pending.
Click Accelerate.
Your transaction should be confirmed shortly.
Web3 Wallet
Currently, it's not possible to accelerate a Bitcoin transaction from Exodus Web3 Wallet.
You will need to sync Web3 Wallet to Exodus Mobile or Exodus Desktop by following this guide:
How do I use ViaBTC to accelerate a transaction?
You can use ViaBTC's BTC Transaction Accelerator to help accelerate and speed up pending Bitcoin transactions. The following are the steps to use their free accelerator service.
You can find the BTC transaction accelerator on ViaBTC's website: BTC Transaction Accelerator.
ViaBTC Pool accelerates 100 transactions for free every hour. They only provide acceleration services for transactions with a) at least a 0.0001 BTC (10,000 sats) transaction fee and b) a size of less than or equal to 0.5 KB.
You can learn more about how to read a transaction on a block explorer here: How do I read a transaction on a block explorer?
ViaBTC is a third-party platform that is not affiliated with Exodus. As such, Exodus cannot guarantee the performance of its products/services or that the steps shown and the information provided will always be accurate.
Locate and copy the transaction ID of the pending Bitcoin transaction. To learn how to do this, see our guide: How do I find a transaction ID?
Go to ViaBTC's acceleration website and confirm there are free accelerations available.
a) Paste the transaction ID of the transaction you want to accelerate, and click Free submission.
If you see a message stating Submissions are beyond limit. Please try later., then the hour's 100 free slots have all been used. You can resubmit your transaction at next hour (e.g. 13:00 sharp) or use their paid service.
ViaBTC will prioritize the submitted transaction and include it in the next block they mine.
How do I replace and cancel a pending Bitcoin transaction?
Electrum is a third-party platform that is not affiliated with Exodus. As such, Exodus cannot guarantee the performance of its products/services or that the steps shown and the information provided will always be accurate.
It's possible to replace an unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction sent with RBF enabled by paying a higher transaction fee using the Electrum wallet.
When you replace a transaction using Electrum, a new transaction is created with a higher fee than the transaction it replaced. The new transaction then returns the funds back to your wallet instead of sending the funds out of your wallet.
Because the new transaction has a higher fee than the transaction it is replacing, it is prioritized by the Bitcoin network, and this effectively cancels the old unconfirmed transaction.
If the transaction is already confirmed or if RBF is disabled, then it is not possible to replace the transaction. Confirmed transactions are irreversible by design.
You can replace a transaction with Electrum on desktop or mobile (Android only).
If you use an iOS device, then you can download Electrum on a trusted desktop device and follow the steps in the desktop guide.
Replacing an unconfirmed transaction will incur a transaction fee.
Electrum on mobile (Android only)
The Electrum mobile app is only available on Android. If you use an iOS device, then you can download Electrum on a trusted desktop device and follow the steps in the Desktop guide.
Electrum does not support Taproot addresses.
Open the unconfirmed transaction sent from your Exodus wallet on a block explorer, such as Mempool.space, and a) confirm that RBF is enabled. Next, b) check the address or addresses from which the funds were sent.
You can learn more about how to view a transaction on a block explorer here: How do I find transaction information on a block explorer?
Next, you will need to download the Electrum wallet. You can download Electrum from Electrum's website.
Open the Electrum app and tap Next.
a) Give your wallet a name, and b) tap Next.
a) Select Standard wallet, then b) tap Next.
Select I already have a seed and tap Next.
a) Tap the dropdown menu in the top right, and b) select BIP39. c) Enter your secret recovery phrase from Exodus in all lowercase with one space between each word, then d) tap Next.
For a guide on how to find your 12-word secret recovery phrase, visit: How do I always have access to my wallet with my 12-word secret recovery phrase?
Please be very careful with your 12-word secret recovery phrase and private keys, because they control access to your funds. Never share them with anyone, and only import them into platforms that you trust 100%. If you choose to import your secret recovery phrase or private keys into a third-party platform, you do so at your own risk. To find out more, check out this article from our Knowledge Base: How do I keep my money safe?
Next, you will need to select which Bitcoin addresses you want to access.
You will need to select the same address type as the address(es) in the unconfirmed transaction you want to replace and cancel. Refer to step 1 for information on how to check the addresses in the transaction.
If the address that sent funds starts with bc1q, then a) select native segwit (p2wpkh).
If the address that sent funds starts with 1, then b) select legacy (p2pkh).
If you see a mix of both address types, try a) selecting native segwit (p2wpkh) and see if you are able to replace the transaction. Contact Exodus Support if you are unsure which to choose.
When you've made your selection, c) tap Next.
a) Create a password for your wallet, b) enter your password again to confirm, then c) tap Finish.
Tap on the unconfirmed transaction you want to replace and cancel.
Tap Cancel TX.
Review the transaction and the new fee. The transaction fee needs to be higher than the fee of the transaction you are replacing. a) You can adjust the fee with the slider. When you've selected a fee, b) tap OK.
Your unconfirmed transaction will now be replaced by another transaction with a higher fee. This will return your BTC to your Exodus wallet.
Electrum on desktop
Electrum does not support Taproot addresses.
Open the unconfirmed transaction sent from your Exodus wallet on a block explorer, such as Mempool.space, and a) confirm that RBF is enabled. Next, check b) the address or addresses from which the funds were sent.
You can learn more about how to view a transaction on a block explorer here: How do I find transaction information on a block explorer?
Next, go to Electrum's website and download the Electrum wallet.
Open Electrum, a) give your wallet a name, then b) click Next.
a) Select Standard wallet, then b) click Next.
a) Select I already have a seed, then b) click Next.
Enter your secret recovery phrase from Exodus in all lowercase with one space between each word, then click Next.
For a guide on how to find your 12-word secret recovery phrase, visit: How do I always have access to my wallet with my 12-word secret recovery phrase?
Please be very careful with your 12-word secret recovery phrase and private keys, because they control access to your funds. Never share them with anyone, and only import them into platforms that you trust 100%. If you choose to import your private keys into a third-party platform, you do so at your own risk. To find out more, check out this article from our Knowledge Base: How do I keep my money safe?
After entering your secret recovery phrase, a) click Options, b) select BIP39, then c) click Next.
Next, select which Bitcoin addresses you want to access.
You will need to select the same address type as the address(es) in the transaction you want to replace and cancel. Refer to step 1 for information on how to check the addresses in the transaction.
If the address that sent funds starts with bc1q, then a) select native segwit (p2wpkh).
If the address that sent funds starts with 1, then a) select legacy (p2pkh).
If you see a mix of both address types, try a) selecting native segwit (p2wpkh) and see if you are able to replace the transaction. Contact Exodus Support if you are unsure which to choose.
When you are ready, c) click Next.
a) Create a strong password for your wallet, b) enter it again to confirm, then c) click Finish.
Right-click on the unconfirmed transaction and click Cancel (double-spend).
a) In New Fee rate, enter the new transaction fee, then b) click OK. Because the transaction fee needs to be higher than the transaction you are replacing, you'll need additional BTC at your address. You can check the current optimal transaction fees on the Bitcoin network by going to mempool.space.
Review the details. To confirm the transaction, click Sign.
Finally, click Broadcast to send the transaction to the Bitcoin network.
Your unconfirmed transaction will now be replaced by another transaction with a higher fee that returns the BTC to your Exodus wallet.
What if my transaction cannot be accelerated?
If you are unable to accelerate your transaction in Exodus or one of the third-party services above, then your transaction will remain pending until dropped from the mempool by the miners.
There is no set time for when a miner will drop a transaction, but the typical wait time is about 14 days.
Once dropped, your BTC will be returned to your wallet. You can then send the transaction again using an optimal transaction fee.