Summary
You can speed up or cancel pending Bitcoin transactions in the Bitcoin.com Wallet app. To do so, simply tap on the transaction and follow the instructions.
Table of Contents
1. Speed Up
2. Cancel
3. Wait
How do I speed up or cancel a pending Bitcoin transaction?
Find the transaction. From the app’s home screen, tap on Bitcoin then select the wallet that has the pending transaction. This will display the Transactions list. Tap on the transaction that is still pending. This will display more information about that transaction.
Select SPEED UP or CANCEL. Review the additional fee required, then slide the arrow to confirm.
And that’s it!
💡When you speed up or cancel a transaction, what you are actually doing is replacing your original transaction with a new transaction that has a higher fee attached to it. Bitcoin miners will likely add this new transaction to the next block, and your original Bitcoin transaction will no longer be pending. Learn more about how Bitcoin transactions work in our Learning Center.
What happens to the replacement transaction if the original transaction confirms first?
Even after initiating a "Speed Up" or "Cancel" request, there is a possibility that your original transaction is confirmed instead of the replacement. This happens because Bitcoin miners may include the original transaction in a block before processing the replacement request.
If the original transaction gets confirmed first, the replacement transaction will automatically be invalidated, and any additional funds allocated for the replacement's fee will be returned to your wallet.
Options for Managing a Pending Bitcoin Transaction
When a Bitcoin transaction is pending, you have three options: 1) speed it up, 2) cancel it, 3) wait.
1. Speed Up
This option creates a new transaction with the same details as the original but includes a higher fee rate to incentivize miners to prioritize it. Learn more about Bitcoin network fees.
The new transaction is broadcast to the Bitcoin network, replacing the original transaction in the mempool. Learn more about how Bitcoin transactions work in our Learning Center.
Steps to Speed Up a Transaction:
Find the transaction. From the app’s home screen, tap on Bitcoin then select the wallet that has the pending transaction. This will display the Transactions list. Tap on the transaction that is still pending. This will display more information about that transaction.
Tap on the "Speed Up" button in the yellow box:
Review the additional fee required (displayed on the confirmation screen) and slide the arrow to confirm the speed-up request.
And that’s it! The Bitcoin.com Wallet app will attempt to broadcast the replacement transaction with the higher fee, effectively speeding up your transaction.
2. Cancel
This option behaves similarly to the Speed Up option but changes the destination address to one controlled by your own wallet, essentially sending the funds back to yourself.
Like speeding up, this also incurs a higher fee rate.
Steps to Cancel a Transaction:
Find the transaction. From the app’s home screen, tap on Bitcoin then select the wallet that has the pending transaction. This will display the Transactions list. Tap on the transaction that is still pending. This will display more information about that transaction.
Tap on the "Cancel" button in the yellow box:
Review the additional fee required (displayed on the confirmation screen) and slide the arrow to confirm the cancel transaction request.
And that’s it! The wallet will attempt to broadcast the replacement transaction with the higher fee, effectively cancelling your original transaction.
3. Wait
If you are ok with waiting, your pending transaction will eventually be either confirmed by miners (ie. your transaction will go through successfully) or dropped from the mempool. If your transaction is dropped from the mempool, it effectively means that your transaction has been cancelled and your funds have been returned to your wallet. In most cases, a transaction will remain pending for as long as 72 hours before it is either confirmed or dropped from the mempool. If your transaction remains pending for longer than 72 hours, you may need to initiate a speed up or cancel request as described above.
What transactions are eligible to be cancelled or sped up?
Only outgoing transactions initiated by you (ie. sends and “moves”) are eligible to be sped up. You cannot speed up a transaction that is sent to you by someone else.
What if I don’t have enough Bitcoin in my wallet to cover the cost of speeding up or cancelling a transaction?
In this case, you will still see the "Speed Up" or "Cancel" options, but an error message will appear stating, "You do not have enough funds to complete this operation." To continue with the speed up or cancel process, you will need to either purchase more Bitcoin or swap into Bitcoin from another asset.
What is RBF?
RBF, or Replace-By-Fee, is the feature leveraged by the Bitcoin.com Wallet app that enables you to speed up or cancel your Bitcoin transactions.
RBF was implemented with BIP 125 (Bitcoin Improvement Proposal 125) in 2016 and is designed to enhance the flexibility and usability of the Bitcoin network.
The following is some basic information about RBF and how it works:
Added via Bitcoin soft fork:
RBF was added in a backward-compatible way, meaning that nodes not updated to recognize RBF could still process transactions normally. This makes it a soft fork rather than a hard fork, which would have required all nodes to upgrade.
BIP 125:
BIP 125 introduced opt-in RBF, meaning that a transaction must explicitly signal it can be replaced. This avoids disrupting existing transaction workflows and ensures compatibility with services and wallets not expecting transactions to be replaceable.
MemPool Rules Update:
Nodes were updated to allow transactions flagged as replaceable to be replaced by others with higher fees. Transactions without the RBF flag are treated as final once broadcasted.