Ethereum is a decentralized network that offers users the ability to store and exchange tokens called Ether. If one wants to buy, sell or trade ETH, an Ethereum wallet is needed.
Ethereum transactions are different from Bitcoin transactions in that they are much more complicated. Every transaction involves an input (a source of funds e.g. a deposit), one or more outputs (destinations for the funds e.g. addresses), and may also have an optional comment field (which can be anything e.g. a memo, or something more complex such as specifying a time-limited contract or additional verification data). The following topics will be discussed in this article:
- Where Can I Find Ethereum Transaction Address?
- How Do I Know If Ethereum Transaction Has Been Confirmed?
- What Can Be checked On Ethereum Blockchain Explorers?
- What Are Ethereum Transaction Fees(GAS Fees)?
- How To Check Ethereum Transaction?
- What Happens If Ethereum Transaction Fails?
Let’s start discussing each of these in detail.
Where Can I Find Ethereum Transaction Address?
All Ethereum addresses have a length of 40 hexadecimal characters and begin with “0x”.
- One can find the Ethereum transaction address in the profile below the account name.
- Below is a sample to show where to find the Ethereum transaction address in the Metamask wallet.
sample for account address
How Do I Know If Ethereum Transaction Has Been Confirmed?
It is a very small procedure to check whether the Ethereum transaction has been confirmed or not. Follow the steps below:
- Click on the Ether tab in the left side navigation of your wallet to find the ether transaction history. This contains all of the sent and received ether transactions.
- Next to each transaction, one can see an arrow that will allow one to expand into a detailed view that provides additional information about each transaction including how many confirmations it has and the value at the time one sent or received the funds.
- In the expanded area on the bottom left, one will find the transaction status (e.g. Transaction Confirmed).
What Can Be Checked On Ethereum Blockchain Explorers?
Blockchain explorers are the Google of cryptocurrencies and blockchain. They allow users to access different details related to transactions on specific wallet addresses and blockchains including the amount transacted, sources and destination of funds, and status of the transactions. Block explorers are the portal to Ethereum’s data. Few are some popular blockchain explorers:
- Blockchain.org: Blockchain.org, formerly known as Blockchain.com, is a popular Bitcoin block explorer. It allows users to search the Bitcoin blockchain by transaction, address, or block. Many Bitcoin users may have used Blockchain.org to monitor or record their Bitcoin transactions.
- Blockchair: Blockchair can be used to search multiple chains, unlike most block explorers who work on only one blockchain. This explorer allows for searches on the Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, and Bitcoin blockchains. Users can look up words, mining difficulty, Mempool size, and nodes.
- Tokenview: Tokenview is based in China and was launched in 2018. It allows for searches to be conducted on multiple blockchains, more than 20 of them.
- Etherscan: Etherscan might be the most popular blockchain explorer for the Ethereum network. It allows users to conduct searches for ETH addresses, wallet balances, transactions, smart contracts, and more.
Checking Ethereum transaction details helps keep track of the cost of using the Ethereum network. In addition to this, one can determine when the gas fee is not enough to trigger the confirmation process.
What Are Ethereum Transaction Fees(GAS Fees)?
When one sends ETH or any other Ethereum-based token, there is a small fee that one has to pay to the Ethereum network for them to process the transaction and “put it through”.
- The fee is calculated in “gas”. Gas is a unit of measurement that is used to quantify the amount of computational effort that is needed to execute certain operations on the Ethereum network.
- Average Ethereum transaction fees tend to fluctuate depending on network congestion and how much effort is required for Ethereum miners to confirm your transaction.
- If the network is under heavy load (as it was in December 2017 during the initial coin offering frenzy), one should expect to pay a higher fee than one would at other times.
- One can see what fee the wallet suggests when one wants to send ETH from one address to another.
- If the user wants to keep the transaction fee as low as possible for speedy processing, the user will likely want to increase the “gas” level to compensate.
How To Check Ethereum Transaction?
There are many ways to check an Ethereum transaction. Depending on what type of wallet one may have, one may have one of these options available to you.
- If one has an ETH paper wallet, the transaction can be checked by entering the wallet’s public key into the blockchain explorer.
- If one has a hardware wallet, the transaction can be checked on the device’s software.
- If one has a desktop wallet, the transaction can be checked on the desktop.
- If one has a mobile wallet, the transaction can be checked on the mobile application.
- If one has a web wallet, the transaction can be checked on the browser.
What Happens If Ethereum Transaction Fails?
When a transaction fails, it is not a sign of foul play. There are numerous reasons why this might occur, including network congestion, an error in your transaction, or a mistake on your part (e.g. entering incorrect information).
- If the transaction fails because of an error on your part, the easiest option here is to try again.
- If the transaction fails due to network congestion, one will have to wait until the network is less busy (which could take hours or even days).
- If the transaction fails due to an error in the transaction, one may have to contact the exchange and ask them to help to rectify the issue.
When the transaction fails, one should always check the blockchain explorer to see what went wrong.