Summary
Pending transactions are those which haven’t yet been processed by the BNB Smart Chain network. You can speed up pending transactions by replacing them with a new transaction with a higher fee.
Table of contents
How do I know if my transaction is pending on BNB Smart Chain?
Could not display content
Why is my BNB Smart Chain transaction pending?
Transactions in BNB Smart Chain will be pending (not confirmed) when either (1) you haven't paid a high enough transaction fee, or (2) other previously submitted transactions from the same wallet are also pending.
Regarding (1) fees, the BNB Smart Chain network has limited capacity to process transactions. In order to ensure fair access to that limited space, BNB Smart Chain adopts a market solution. This means that transactions that include higher fees are the first ones to be processed by validators. If the fee you attached to your submitted transaction is too low and network congestion remains high, there's a chance your transaction will stay pending for a long time. If you're ok with waiting, in most cases your transaction will eventually go through. However, if you're in a hurry to have your transaction confirmed, you may need to take action. There's also a small possibility that your transaction will stay pending indefinitely. In that case, you'll need to resubmit the transaction. Please see “How to override or cancel a pending BNB Smart Chain transaction” below for instructions on how to do that.
As for (2) transaction sequence, BNB Smart Chain is designed such that transactions can only be processed in the order they were submitted. This means that, as long as a previously submitted transaction remains pending (for whatever reason), even if you submit another transaction with a higher fee, that transaction can't go through until your previously submitted transaction is successfully processed.
How do I know what the right fee is for making a BNB Smart Chain transaction?
The Bitcoin.com Wallet constantly monitors the market rate for 'gas' (which is how fees are measured in BNB Smart Chain) to arrive at the optimal gas price (and therefore fee) for your transaction. We provide you with three convenient preset modes:
Eco → means you'll pay a lower fee, but your transaction will take longer. Estimated confirmation time: 30-60 seconds.*
Fast → strikes the optimal balance between cost and speed. Estimated confirmation time: 10-30 seconds.*
Fastest → optimizes for speed over cost. Estimated confirmation time: less than 5-10 seconds.*
In all cases, estimates are for normal network congestion conditions. When there's a sudden demand for block space, the time it takes for validators to get to your transaction may change significantly.
Customizing fees when using the BNB Smart Chain network
When you create a transaction on the BNB Smart Chain network using the Bitcoin.com Wallet, you can customize the fee you pay to the BNB Smart Chain. Here's how:
On the "Enter send amount" screen, tap on the "Network fee" icon at the bottom-left
Choose from one of the three following options:
'Eco' means you'll pay a lower fee, but your transaction will take longer*
'Fast' strikes the optimal balance between cost and speed
'Fastest' optimizes for speed over cost
Manually customizing fees when using the BNB Smart Chain network in the Bitcoin.com Wallet
The Bitcoin.com Wallet constantly monitors the market rate for gas to arrive at the optimal price for each preset mode. However, you also have the option to manually customize your gas price for each transaction (see below for an explanation of how 'gas' relates to fees in BNB Smart Chain). You can check gas rates using a tool like https://bscscan.com/gastracker and set customized fees based on the market rate for gas. Here's how to set customized fees in your wallet:
On the "Enter send amount" screen, tap on the "Network fee" icon at the bottom-left:
Under "Custom fee options"you can enter the precise gas price in gwei for your transaction:
What should I do if my transaction is pending for too long on BNB Smart Chain?
If your transaction status is listed as pending for significantly longer than the above-described estimates, the most likely explanation is that the market rate for gas increased suddenly at the moment you submitted the transaction. When your transaction is pending, you have three options:
Wait longer. If you chose one of the three presets, your transaction most likely just needs a bit longer to confirm. In most cases, your transaction will confirm within a few hours at most. If you're in a rush, or if after a day, your transaction still hasn't confirmed, you can:
Resubmit the same transaction with a higher fee, or:
Cancel the current transaction.
How to override or cancel a pending BNB Smart Chain transaction
If your transaction is stuck on 'pending,' you can manually resubmit that transaction to the BNB Smart Chain network. When you do so, you're effectively replacing your previously submitted transaction with a new transaction. For your new transaction, you're free to change the transaction details however you'd like. You can set a new gas price, change the send amount, and change who you're sending to. While it's technically impossible to initiate a transaction cancellation, if you resubmit a transaction and change the send amount to 0.00000001 BNB, you're achieving effectively the same thing as a transaction cancelation.
As mentioned, when you resubmit a transaction, what you're actually doing is replacing your previously submitted transaction. Assuming the gas price for your new transaction is high enough (and assuming the transaction you're resubmitting is the first in line for your wallet) the transaction will get picked up by a validator and the transaction it replaces will disappear forever.
IMPORTANT: transactions can only be processed in the order they were submitted. This means that no matter what gas price you choose for subsequent transactions, you'll have to wait until your previously submitted transactions are first picked up and processed by validators.
Here's the process for overriding and/or canceling pending BNB Smart Chain transactions:
From the Bitcoin.com Wallet app's home screen, tap on the wallet for the transaction you want to resubmit (eg. My BNB Wallet). This will bring up that wallet's transaction history.
Tap on the transaction you want to resubmit or cancel.
Tap "View transaction on the block explorer." This will take you to https://bscscan.com/, where you'll see the complete details for your transaction.
Tap on "Click to see more."
Take note of the 'nonce.'
The nonce value denotes the position of this transaction in the sequential order of transactions submitted by your wallet. In the above example, the 'nonce' is 1296. The previously submitted transaction for this wallet would have a nonce of 1295. The next transaction submitted by this wallet will be given a nonce of 1297, and so on. Remember, transactions can only be processed in the order they were submitted, so if you have a pending transaction with a lower nonce, only when that transaction is confirmed will the network consider your next transaction.
Next, in the app, initiate a new BNB Smart Chain transaction, then tap on on "Custom Nonce":
Enter the nonce value of the transaction you want to resubmit.
Resubmit the transaction, but this time increase the gas price. Be sure to set your new gas price so that, given the current market rate, your transaction will confirm within a reasonable amount of time. You can check gas rates using https://bscscan.com/gastracker. If you'd like to "cancel" the transaction, the easiest way to do so is to set the send amount to 0.00000001 BNB and increase the gas price.