How to Cancel Pending Ethereum Transaction: Basic Step-by-Step Guide
- The Master Sensei
- Oct 2
- 6 min read
Ethereum transactions sometimes get stuck in a pending state for what feels like forever—hours, maybe even days. It’s frustrating, especially when you just want to send or receive funds and your wallet refuses to cooperate. Usually, this happens when the gas fee is just too low for the current network congestion. Miners, being miners, will always go for the juicier fees, leaving your transaction in limbo.
But here’s the thing: you can actually cancel a pending Ethereum transaction. The trick is to send a new transaction with the same nonce, a higher gas fee, and zero ETH—just send it to yourself. This replacement transaction gives miners a better incentive, so they’ll likely pick it up instead.
Let’s get into the details. Here’s what you need to know to cancel or speed up those annoying pending transactions, avoid wallet lockups, and generally keep things running smoothly on Ethereum.
How to Cancel a Pending Ethereum Transaction
Canceling a pending Ethereum transaction mostly comes down to understanding nonces and how to replace a stuck transaction by offering a better (higher) gas fee. Most wallets these days have some tools built in for this, but let’s break it down.
Identifying a Pending Transaction
If your transaction is stuck, you’ll see it sitting in “Pending” status. That means it’s chilling in the mempool, waiting for miners to pick it up.
You can check any transaction’s status on Etherscan—just paste in your transaction hash. If it says “Pending,” well, there you go.
Signs you’ve got a pending transaction:
It’s been “Pending” for more than 10-15 minutes
Your wallet marks it as unconfirmed
You can’t send new transactions from the same wallet
The transaction shows up in the mempool, but not in any block
Low gas fees are almost always the culprit here. When the network is slammed, miners ignore the low-fee transactions.
Understanding Nonce and Gas Fees
Every transaction from your wallet gets a nonce—a number that starts at 0 and goes up by one each time you send something. Ethereum processes transactions in nonce order. So if transaction #5 is stuck, #6 will just wait in line until #5 gets sorted out.
Gas fees decide how fast miners will pick up your transaction. The formula is simple: gas units used × gas price (in Gwei).
Quick breakdown:
Basic ETH transfer: 21,000 gas units
Gas price: measured in Gwei (1 Gwei = 0.000000001 ETH)
Total fee: units × price
If you want your transaction to go through quickly, you’ll need to pay a bit more, especially when the network is busy.
Steps to Cancel via Crypto Wallets
Most major wallets have a built-in way to cancel pending transactions, though the steps might differ a bit.
On MetaMask:
Open the Activity tab
Find the pending transaction
Hit “Cancel” or “Speed Up”
Approve the new transaction with a higher gas fee
General approach:
Enable advanced or custom transaction settings if your wallet has them
Find the pending transaction in your history
Select cancel or replace
Set a higher gas fee for the new transaction
Confirm it
Some wallets suggest a suitable gas fee, but double-check it against current network rates to be sure.
Trust Wallet, Coinbase Wallet, and others have similar features—usually tucked away in their transaction management sections.
Replacing a Transaction with a Higher Gas Fee
If your wallet doesn’t have a cancel button, you can do it manually. Just send a 0 ETH transaction to yourself, using the same nonce as the stuck one, and bump up the gas price.
What you’ll need:
The same nonce as the pending transaction
A higher gas price than before
Sending 0 ETH to your own address
Enough ETH to cover the gas
First, look up the nonce on Etherscan in your transaction details.
Then, create a new transaction with that exact nonce. Raise the gas price by at least 10% over the original. You’ll probably need to enable advanced settings in your wallet to set the nonce manually.
Once miners pick up the new transaction, it’ll overwrite the old one. Only one transaction with a given nonce can make it onto the blockchain.
If it still doesn’t go through, try cranking the gas price up even more. Sometimes the network is just that busy.
Troubleshooting and Preventing Stuck Ethereum Transactions
Let’s be honest, stuck transactions are a pain. But if you know why they happen and what to do next, you can avoid most headaches.
Common Reasons Transactions Remain Pending
Low gas fees are the main reason transactions get stuck. If you set your fee too low, miners just skip your transaction.
Network congestion can make things much worse—think NFT drops, token launches, or big DeFi activity. Gas prices can spike tenfold or more during these times.
Nonce issues can also block everything up. If you’ve got a stuck transaction, any new ones from the same wallet will just pile up behind it.
Sometimes, your wallet might show a transaction as pending even though it actually failed. Always double-check on Etherscan for the real status.
Tips for Avoiding Future Transaction Issues
Check current gas prices before sending anything. ETH Gas Station or your wallet’s suggestions are good places to start.
During busy times, set your gas fee 10-20% above the going rate.
Turn on advanced gas controls in your wallet if you can. This lets you tweak gas limits and priority fees.
Try to send transactions during off-peak hours—weekend mornings are usually quieter than weekday evenings.
Keep a bit of extra ETH (like 0.01-0.05) in your wallet for emergencies or to speed up stuck transactions.
Don’t send a bunch of low-fee transactions in a row. Wait for one to confirm before sending the next, or you might end up with a traffic jam in your own wallet.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
People have a lot of questions about canceling pending transactions. Here are some quick answers.
What steps should I take to cancel a transaction that's still pending on the Ethereum network?
You’ll need to send a new transaction with the same nonce and a higher gas fee. This will overwrite the pending transaction.
Most wallets, like MetaMask, have a built-in cancel option. Just click it and approve the replacement.
If your wallet doesn’t have this, manually send 0 ETH to yourself, set the same nonce as the stuck transaction, and use a higher gas fee.
Can I speed up an Ethereum transaction that's taking too long, or should I cancel it?
You can do either. Both work by sending a replacement transaction with a higher gas fee.
Speeding up keeps the same details but bumps up the gas price. Canceling sends 0 ETH to yourself, effectively removing the original transaction.
Either way, make sure you’ve got enough ETH to cover the gas.
What is a nonce, and how does it relate to cancelling a pending Ethereum transaction?
A nonce is just a number that tracks the order of your wallet’s transactions. Each new transaction gets the next number.
Ethereum processes transactions in nonce order. So if one gets stuck, everything after it waits its turn.
To cancel a pending transaction, send a replacement with the exact same nonce and a higher gas fee. That way, miners will pick the new one.
Are there any risks associated with attempting to cancel a pending Ethereum transaction?
The main risk? The original transaction might go through before your cancellation does. If that happens, both transactions could process.
You’ll also lose any gas fees for failed cancellation attempts. Those aren’t refundable.
If you set the gas fee too low on your replacement, it might get stuck too—and now you’ve got two pending transactions.
How can I determine if my pending Ethereum transaction can still be cancelled or if it has been processed?
Check your transaction on Etherscan or a similar explorer. If it says “Pending,” you can still try to cancel. If it says “Success” or “Failed,” it’s done.
Once a transaction is in a confirmed block, you can’t cancel or change it anymore. So act while it’s still pending.
Most wallets also show transaction status, so keep an eye out for confirmation numbers or pending labels.
What fees are involved in cancelling a pending Ethereum transaction, and who receives them?
When you cancel a pending Ethereum transaction, you have to pay gas fees for the cancellation, just as you would for any other transaction. Miners process your replacement transaction and collect these fees.
If your cancellation goes through, you lose the gas fees from the original transaction too. Miners keep those, even though the original transaction gets replaced.
So, you end up paying both the original gas fees and usually higher fees for the cancellation. Unfortunately, you can't get back what you already paid.
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