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  "id": "ethereum-transactions-and-nonces",
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  "collection": "ethereum",
  "title": "Ethereum transactions and nonces: how requests stay in order",
  "description": "Read an Ethereum transaction’s destination, value, data and nonce, with a pending-payment example and the difference between execution and finality.",
  "aliases": [
    "Ethereum nonce",
    "pending ETH transaction",
    "transaction hash"
  ],
  "dates": {
    "published": "2026-10-02",
    "modified": "2026-10-02",
    "verified": "2026-10-02T18:16:35.976Z",
    "dataAsOf": null
  },
  "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": "An Ethereum transaction is a signed request to change network state. Its fields identify the destination, any ETH value, call data and fee limits. A sender nonce orders ordinary transactions and prevents the same authorized transaction from executing repeatedly; a transaction hash alone does not prove inclusion or success.",
    "claimId": "ethereum-transactions-and-nonces-quick-answer",
    "sourceIds": [
      "transactions",
      "accounts",
      "rpc"
    ]
  },
  "keyFacts": [
    {
      "label": "Value",
      "value": "The native ETH amount, denominated in wei",
      "sourceIds": [
        "transactions"
      ],
      "id": "value",
      "claimId": "ethereum-transactions-and-nonces-fact-value"
    },
    {
      "label": "Data",
      "value": "May encode a contract function and arguments",
      "sourceIds": [
        "transactions",
        "interacting"
      ],
      "id": "data",
      "claimId": "ethereum-transactions-and-nonces-fact-data"
    },
    {
      "label": "Receipt",
      "value": "Reports execution status after inclusion",
      "sourceIds": [
        "rpc"
      ],
      "id": "receipt",
      "claimId": "ethereum-transactions-and-nonces-fact-receipt"
    }
  ],
  "prerequisites": [
    "ethereum-accounts"
  ],
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "request-fields",
      "heading": "The destination and the recipient may describe different things",
      "sourceIds": [
        "transactions",
        "interacting"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "A simple ETH payment names the recipient in its destination field. A token transfer instead calls a token contract; the intended token recipient is an argument inside the call data. The top-level ETH value may be zero.",
        "That is why a wallet or explorer needs to decode more than the amount field. A zero-ETH transaction can move valuable tokens, create an allowance or change a contract’s settings."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "nonce-example",
      "heading": "Follow the earliest unfinished sender nonce",
      "sourceIds": [
        "edition-eth-transactions",
        "edition-eth-jsonrpc",
        "edition-eth-accounts"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "If the next ordinary sender nonce is 12, a transaction using nonce 13 cannot simply execute first in that account’s sequence. It may wait while nonce 12 is missing or pending. A wallet can group these as several pending actions even though the earliest gap explains the queue.",
        "A same-nonce replacement competes for the original slot; a new-nonce transaction is another operation. Once an included transaction uses the nonce, even a top-level execution failure does not make that nonce available for an unrelated retry."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "execution-result",
      "heading": "A receipt separates failure from a request still waiting",
      "sourceIds": [
        "rpc",
        "gas"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "Before inclusion, a receipt may be unavailable. After inclusion, its status distinguishes successful execution from failure. A reverted operation can still consume gas because nodes performed work before the failure occurred.",
        "For example, a transfer attempt might fail because a contract’s balance check rejects it. The requested transfer does not take effect, but a recorded transaction and fee can remain. Read status and logs alongside the headline amount."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "ordering-and-finality",
      "heading": "Nonce order is not the same as settlement finality",
      "sourceIds": [
        "pos",
        "eip7702"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "The nonce describes account-level replay and ordering rules; finality describes the chain’s agreement about its history. A receipt in a recent block and a finalized transaction answer different questions.",
        "Account delegation and contract-created operations add detail beyond the simplest nonce counter story. In particular, EIP-7702 authorization can also affect an account nonce. Use the relevant wallet and protocol rules rather than treating a nonce as merely a lifetime payment count."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "question": "Does a transaction hash mean the payment worked?",
      "answer": "No. It identifies a transaction; check whether it was included, its execution status and the applicable confirmation or finality state.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "rpc",
        "pos"
      ]
    },
    {
      "question": "Can a failed transaction have a network fee?",
      "answer": "Yes. Work performed during an included transaction can be charged even when execution fails or a contract reverts.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "gas"
      ]
    },
    {
      "question": "Can I cancel an already finalized payment?",
      "answer": "Submitting another transaction cannot erase a finalized payment. Pending replacement is a race before execution, not an onchain undo function.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "transactions",
        "pos"
      ]
    }
  ],
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      "statement": "An Ethereum transaction is a signed request to change network state. Its fields identify the destination, any ETH value, call data and fee limits. A sender nonce orders ordinary transactions and prevents the same authorized transaction from executing repeatedly; a transaction hash alone does not prove inclusion or success.",
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        "dataAsOf": null,
        "blockHeight": null
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        "notes": [
          "Checked RPC optional same-nonce replacement and pending fields against sequential transaction/account nonce descriptions. Added direct eth-accounts support.",
          "The nonce-12/13 illustration is explicitly ordinary sender sequencing; included failed execution still consumes the ordinary transaction nonce. The unchanged article retains its separately reviewed EIP-7702 nonce caveat."
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          "The nonce-12/13 illustration is explicitly ordinary sender sequencing; included failed execution still consumes the ordinary transaction nonce. The unchanged article retains its separately reviewed EIP-7702 nonce caveat."
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  "related": {
    "articles": [
      "ethereum-gas-fees",
      "ethereum-block-explorer",
      "ethereum-proof-of-stake-finality",
      "ethereum-transaction-replacement"
    ],
    "dossiers": [],
    "wallets": []
  },
  "revisionHistory": [
    {
      "date": "2026-10-02",
      "kind": "published",
      "summary": "First publication after primary-source research and independent automated verification."
    },
    {
      "date": "2026-10-02",
      "kind": "substantive-edit",
      "summary": "Expanded explanation: Follow the earliest unfinished sender nonce. Worked examples are illustrative; source checks and independent verification are recorded separately."
    }
  ],
  "citation": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project. “Ethereum transactions and nonces: how requests stay in order.” Published 2026-10-02; updated 2026-10-02. https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/ethereum-transactions-and-nonces/"
}