Why is my bitcoin pending on Coinbase?

Find out which kind of pending it is

Coinbase shows a payment as Pending until it is complete, and Completed once it can’t be reversed. Select the payment from the asset’s page or your transactions. If it has a View on block explorer link, it has been sent on the Bitcoin network and you can check it. If it went to an email address or phone number, or Coinbase is holding your balance, there is nothing on the network to look up.

If it has been sent, look it up

Coinbase suggests waiting at least 30 minutes, as most sends complete within that time. Then select View on block explorer to see the transaction, copy its transaction ID and paste it into UTXOHub’s search. The payment’s page says whether it is waiting for a block or confirmed and, if it is waiting, roughly when it will probably confirm. Coinbase lists the usual reasons for a wait: the payment needs more confirmations, the network is busy, the fee was too low, or Coinbase briefly lost its connection to the network, which it says usually lasts under an hour. If the explorer still shows 0 confirmations after that, Coinbase asks you to contact it.

If it says Completed but hasn’t arrived

For a send to a bitcoin address, with a View on block explorer link, Coinbase shows Completed once the payment is confirmed and can’t be reversed. Open that link, or look the transaction ID up on UTXOHub, and check that one of its outputs pays the whole address you meant to pay, with the amount you sent. Coinbase asks you to check the address and that the recipient expects bitcoin on the Bitcoin network; it says it can’t recover funds sent on the wrong network. If both match, send the recipient the transaction ID: their wallet or exchange may run its own checks before it shows the payment.

• Sent to an email address, phone number or username: the bitcoin stayed inside Coinbase, so there is no transaction ID to look up. The recipient should check their own Coinbase account, and Coinbase support can answer the rest.
• Sent by Lightning: the payment isn’t on the blockchain, so no lookup can show it. The recipient’s Lightning wallet can.

If your bitcoin is on hold or unavailable

When you add money from a bank, Coinbase may hold it. You can buy, sell or trade with it, but bitcoin bought with that money can’t be sent off Coinbase until the hold lifts. Coinbase says hold periods depend on your account history, that it emails you the date your bitcoin can be sent, and that holds usually end by 11:59 p.m. Pacific time that day but can be extended. Its support can’t shorten them. Even after a hold, a send can be restricted for a while; Coinbase says to try again later, and if your account is restricted, the app lists what you need to do, such as verifying your identity. None of this is on the network, so no explorer or accelerator can help.

• Look for a message or email from Coinbase that names the date or the step to complete.
• Sending to your own wallet can first ask for a small deposit test: you send Coinbase a small, exact amount from that wallet within 48 hours to prove it’s yours.
• If nothing explains it, contact Coinbase support from the app or help.coinbase.com.

If you sent it to an email address or phone number

Sending to another Coinbase user’s email address, phone number or username is instant and stays inside Coinbase, so it never appears on the blockchain. If it shows as pending, Coinbase says the recipient hasn’t accepted it yet, and it returns the bitcoin to you if they don’t within 30 days. Until then you can cancel it on Coinbase.com: sign in, select the asset, select the pending payment and choose Cancel payment.

If bitcoin sent to Coinbase isn’t showing up

Coinbase adds a deposit to your balance only after it is confirmed. Ask the sender for the transaction ID and look it up, or paste your Coinbase bitcoin address into UTXOHub’s search to see the payments sent to it. If it is still waiting for a block, the sender’s fee decides when it confirms, so ask them about it. If it has confirmed and still isn’t in your balance, check the app for messages asking you to verify your identity or update your details; Coinbase says receives should be credited within 3 to 5 business days after you do.

• Coinbase says assets or networks it doesn’t support may be lost. Send only bitcoin, on the Bitcoin network.
• You may have several Coinbase bitcoin addresses. Find the current one under Transfer, then Receive crypto.

You can’t cancel a payment once it’s on the network

Coinbase says sends to an outside address are irreversible, and that a cryptocurrency transaction can’t be cancelled or changed once it has started, except by asking the recipient for a refund. Coinbase pays the network fee and charges you its estimate of it; its help describes no way to raise the fee afterwards. Don’t send the same amount again: if both payments go through, you pay twice.

Don’t pay anyone to speed it up

Posts about a pending payment attract people offering to speed it up, unlock it or recover it. Coinbase says it can’t retrieve assets sent off its platform, and that real support agents never ask for trades, deposits or remote access to your device. Never share your password or two-step verification codes. Contact Coinbase only from the app or help.coinbase.com.