{
  "$schema": "https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/schemas/article-v1.json",
  "schemaVersion": "1.0.0",
  "id": "ethereum-pending-transactions",
  "canonical": "https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/ethereum-pending-transactions/",
  "collection": "ethereum",
  "title": "Pending Ethereum transactions: what the wallet is waiting for",
  "description": "Diagnose a pending Ethereum transaction by checking propagation, sender nonce order, fee conditions and the distinction between a node’s pool and chain state.",
  "aliases": [],
  "dates": {
    "published": "2026-10-02",
    "modified": "2026-10-02",
    "verified": "2026-10-02T18:12:41.505Z",
    "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02"
  },
  "authorship": {
    "publisher": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project",
    "process": "AI-assisted research and drafting with a separate automated source-verification pass; no external expert or named human review is implied."
  },
  "quickAnswer": {
    "text": "A pending Ethereum transaction has not yet been included in the chain being observed. It may be waiting for a lower sender nonce, more favorable fee conditions or propagation to a block builder. A wallet’s pending label and one RPC provider’s transaction pool are observations, not a network-wide guarantee of inclusion.",
    "claimId": "ethereum-pending-transactions-quick-answer",
    "sourceIds": [
      "eth-transactions",
      "eth-jsonrpc",
      "eip1559"
    ]
  },
  "keyFacts": [
    {
      "label": "Order",
      "value": "Ordinary sender transactions must consume the account’s transaction nonces in order.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "eth-transactions"
      ],
      "id": "order",
      "claimId": "ethereum-pending-transactions-fact-order"
    },
    {
      "label": "Fee cap",
      "value": "A transaction’s applicable fee cap must cover the base fee for inclusion.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "eip1559"
      ],
      "id": "fee-cap",
      "claimId": "ethereum-pending-transactions-fact-fee-cap"
    },
    {
      "label": "Observation",
      "value": "A pending transaction can have null block fields in RPC responses.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "eth-jsonrpc"
      ],
      "id": "observation",
      "claimId": "ethereum-pending-transactions-fact-observation"
    }
  ],
  "prerequisites": [
    "ethereum-transactions-and-nonces"
  ],
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "nonce-gap",
      "heading": "Look for the earliest unfinished nonce",
      "sourceIds": [
        "eth-transactions",
        "eth-jsonrpc"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "If the account’s next nonce is 12 and a wallet submits nonce 13, the later transaction cannot jump past the missing or unfinished nonce 12 in ordinary sequential execution.",
        "Inspect the account on the same network and compare latest and pending views cautiously. A provider’s pending count reflects its own available data and execution assumptions."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "fees",
      "heading": "A large gas limit is not a competitive gas price",
      "sourceIds": [
        "eth-gas",
        "eip1559"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "Gas limit caps how much work the transaction may consume. Fee caps and priority fees determine what it offers per gas under the applicable fee rules. Raising the first field does not necessarily solve a price problem.",
        "A quoted fee also competes with changing conditions. An earlier estimate is not a reservation in a future block."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "next-step",
      "heading": "Distinguish replacement from an additional payment",
      "sourceIds": [
        "eth-jsonrpc"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "Wallets may offer a replacement using the same nonce. A transaction with a new nonce is another operation; it may eventually execute as well as the original.",
        "A local timeout or missing explorer result does not revoke an already signed transaction. Confirm whether it was replaced, included or remains eligible before assuming it cannot execute."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "question": "Can I delete a pending transaction from Ethereum?",
      "answer": "There is no global delete request. A wallet can attempt a competing same-nonce transaction under node policies, but the original may be included first.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "eth-jsonrpc",
        "eth-transactions"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": "ethereum-pending-transactions-quick-answer",
      "articleSlug": "ethereum-pending-transactions",
      "statement": "A pending Ethereum transaction has not yet been included in the chain being observed. It may be waiting for a lower sender nonce, more favorable fee conditions or propagation to a block builder. A wallet’s pending label and one RPC provider’s transaction pool are observations, not a network-wide guarantee of inclusion.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-c4666896686db30e",
        "source-a5154b4118a3d15f",
        "source-2be2a692f09f4d89"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-c4666896686db30e",
          "locator": "The transaction lifecycle; Typed transaction envelope"
        },
        {
          "sourceId": "source-a5154b4118a3d15f",
          "locator": "eth_getTransactionByHash; eth_getTransactionReceipt; eth_call; eth_getLogs; eth_getCode; eth_estimateGas; eth_getBalance; eth_getStorageAt; eth_getTransactionCount; default block parameter"
        },
        {
          "sourceId": "source-2be2a692f09f4d89",
          "locator": "Specification"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "ethereum",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:12:41.505Z",
        "reviewer": "Codex independent automated reviewer /root/verify_ethereum_100",
        "notes": [
          "Checked transaction counter ordering, latest/pending state tags, pending null block fields, RPC same-nonce replacement and EIP-1559 fee-cap >= base-fee requirement.",
          "The nonce-12/13 scenario is illustrative sequential-account reasoning. Pool observations, propagation and cancellation are appropriately qualified and not promises of inclusion."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "ethereum-pending-transactions-fact-order",
      "articleSlug": "ethereum-pending-transactions",
      "statement": "Order: Ordinary sender transactions must consume the account’s transaction nonces in order.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-c4666896686db30e"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-c4666896686db30e",
          "locator": "The transaction lifecycle; Typed transaction envelope"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "ethereum",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:12:41.505Z",
        "reviewer": "Codex independent automated reviewer /root/verify_ethereum_100",
        "notes": [
          "Checked transaction counter ordering, latest/pending state tags, pending null block fields, RPC same-nonce replacement and EIP-1559 fee-cap >= base-fee requirement.",
          "The nonce-12/13 scenario is illustrative sequential-account reasoning. Pool observations, propagation and cancellation are appropriately qualified and not promises of inclusion."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "ethereum-pending-transactions-fact-fee-cap",
      "articleSlug": "ethereum-pending-transactions",
      "statement": "Fee cap: A transaction’s applicable fee cap must cover the base fee for inclusion.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-2be2a692f09f4d89"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-2be2a692f09f4d89",
          "locator": "Specification"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "ethereum",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:12:41.505Z",
        "reviewer": "Codex independent automated reviewer /root/verify_ethereum_100",
        "notes": [
          "Checked transaction counter ordering, latest/pending state tags, pending null block fields, RPC same-nonce replacement and EIP-1559 fee-cap >= base-fee requirement.",
          "The nonce-12/13 scenario is illustrative sequential-account reasoning. Pool observations, propagation and cancellation are appropriately qualified and not promises of inclusion."
        ]
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "ethereum-pending-transactions-fact-observation",
      "articleSlug": "ethereum-pending-transactions",
      "statement": "Observation: A pending transaction can have null block fields in RPC responses.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-a5154b4118a3d15f"
      ],
      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-a5154b4118a3d15f",
          "locator": "eth_getTransactionByHash; eth_getTransactionReceipt; eth_call; eth_getLogs; eth_getCode; eth_estimateGas; eth_getBalance; eth_getStorageAt; eth_getTransactionCount; default block parameter"
        }
      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "ethereum",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
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        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:12:41.505Z",
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        "notes": [
          "Checked transaction counter ordering, latest/pending state tags, pending null block fields, RPC same-nonce replacement and EIP-1559 fee-cap >= base-fee requirement.",
          "The nonce-12/13 scenario is illustrative sequential-account reasoning. Pool observations, propagation and cancellation are appropriately qualified and not promises of inclusion."
        ]
      }
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "eth-transactions",
      "label": "Ethereum transactions",
      "publisher": "ethereum.org contributors",
      "url": "https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/transactions/",
      "locator": "The transaction lifecycle; Typed transaction envelope",
      "note": "Signed transaction fields, nonces, propagation, inclusion and transaction types.",
      "version": null,
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T17:03:41.854Z",
      "contentSha256": "2eb9d9cb65efec673d9bb3327961aa14a0e354b612e149c5a6b733032977fee7",
      "recordId": "source-c4666896686db30e"
    },
    {
      "id": "eth-jsonrpc",
      "label": "Ethereum JSON-RPC",
      "publisher": "ethereum.org contributors",
      "url": "https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/apis/json-rpc/",
      "locator": "eth_getTransactionByHash; eth_getTransactionReceipt; eth_call; eth_getLogs; eth_getCode; eth_estimateGas; eth_getBalance; eth_getStorageAt; eth_getTransactionCount; default block parameter",
      "note": "RPC response fields, transaction receipts, call simulation and log filtering.",
      "version": null,
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T17:03:42.060Z",
      "contentSha256": "ed13997ec4f415dff80883add0730d4e64bcc8c17b95dd4f6c27aed0241a4073",
      "recordId": "source-a5154b4118a3d15f"
    },
    {
      "id": "eip1559",
      "label": "Fee market change for ETH 1.0 chain",
      "publisher": "Ethereum Improvement Proposals",
      "url": "https://eips.ethereum.org/EIPS/eip-1559",
      "locator": "Specification",
      "note": "Base fees, fee caps, priority fees and effective transaction gas price.",
      "version": "EIP/ERC-1559; retrieved document hash recorded",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T17:03:42.151Z",
      "contentSha256": "453b293845f8faac282a468be0c01594f0a785dde3af34947ee676c085e011b7",
      "recordId": "source-2be2a692f09f4d89"
    },
    {
      "id": "eth-gas",
      "label": "Gas and fees",
      "publisher": "ethereum.org contributors",
      "url": "https://ethereum.org/en/developers/docs/gas/",
      "locator": "What is gas?; Base fee; Priority fee",
      "note": "Execution resource units, fee components and gas expenditure.",
      "version": null,
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T17:03:41.688Z",
      "contentSha256": "566e61b7dce594a477ef28bab1f5a23279feb4f782e2838623fc7491c9daec66",
      "recordId": "source-5cadd0da692ffaa8"
    }
  ],
  "related": {
    "articles": [
      "ethereum-transaction-replacement",
      "ethereum-gas-fees",
      "ethereum-transaction-hashes",
      "private-transaction-submission"
    ],
    "dossiers": [],
    "wallets": []
  },
  "revisionHistory": [
    {
      "date": "2026-10-02",
      "kind": "published",
      "summary": "First publication after primary-source research and independent automated verification."
    }
  ],
  "citation": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project. “Pending Ethereum transactions: what the wallet is waiting for.” Published 2026-10-02; updated 2026-10-02. https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/ethereum-pending-transactions/"
}