Unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction — what to do
An 'unconfirmed' Bitcoin transaction has been broadcast but not yet included in a block. It is waiting in the mempool. Most clear quickly; a few with low fees can wait for days. Here is how to tell which case you have and what to do.
Check the fee rate. Look up the transaction on a block explorer and note its fee rate in sats per byte. Compare it with the current mempool's minimum. If yours is far below, it will wait; if it is close, it should confirm soon.
Give it time first. If the fee rate is reasonable, the transaction may simply be queued. It often confirms within the next block or two as the mempool clears.
Speed it up if needed. If the fee is clearly too low, raise it: use RBF to broadcast a higher-fee replacement, or send a CPFP child transaction that pays for both. An accelerator service can do this for you.
Quick answers
How do I check if my transaction is stuck?
Search its TXID on a block explorer. If it shows 0 confirmations and a low fee rate compared to the current mempool, it is likely stuck and needs a higher fee.
What is sats per byte (vB)?
It is the fee rate: total fee divided by the transaction size in virtual bytes. Miners rank transactions by this number, so a higher sats/vB confirms faster.
Will an unconfirmed transaction ever confirm on its own?
Yes, if the mempool pressure drops enough that your fee becomes competitive. Otherwise it needs to be replaced or it may eventually be evicted.