A transaction's path from signature to confirmation

Before inclusion

A signed Ethereum transaction specifies an action and contains fields such as the sender's nonce, destination, value and fee settings. Signing authorises the encoded request. Broadcasting makes it available to the network; it does not ensure immediate inclusion.

An interface may display a transaction hash as soon as it has a signed transaction or submission result. That hash identifies the transaction, not a completed payment. Pending, included, reverted and finalised need different labels.

After execution

Execution determines whether the requested state changes succeed. A failed transaction can still consume gas for work performed. Inspect its receipt and resulting state rather than relying on a green notification from a website.

For a payment investigation, record the network, full transaction identifier, relevant token contract and recipient effects. A screenshot showing submitted cannot establish that the recipient received the intended asset. Follow blocks, gas and asset identity.

Sources and originals

• Ethereum documentation: Transactions