How to Track a Crypto Transaction With a Blockchain Explorer

"I've sent it. Check your wallet."

A client says it. A P2P buyer says it. A cousin who owes you money says it. Sometimes it's true and the transfer just hasn't landed yet. Sometimes it isn't. A blockchain explorer lets you check for yourself in under a minute, without relying on anyone's word or screenshot.

Every public blockchain keeps a record anyone can read. An explorer is simply a website that makes that record readable: paste in a transaction ID and it shows what moved, from where, to where, and whether it's finished. Here's how to use one.

Step 1: Find the TXID

The TXID (transaction ID, also called the transaction hash or just "hash") is a long string that identifies one transaction and nothing else. It's a lot like the session ID on a Nigerian bank transfer receipt. It's created the moment a transaction is broadcast to the network.

Where to find it:

• On an exchange: open your withdrawal history and tap the withdrawal. Look for "TxID", "Txhash" or "Transaction hash". Many exchanges link it straight to an explorer.
• In a self-custody wallet such as Trust Wallet, MetaMask or Phantom: tap the transaction in your activity list. There's usually an option to view it on an explorer, or a hash you can copy.
• No TXID yet? Then the transaction hasn't reached the blockchain. The sending platform is still processing it, so ask them, not the receiver.
• Moved between two accounts on the same exchange? That's often an internal transfer that never touches the blockchain, so there's no TXID to look up.

What a TXID looks like depends on the network. On Ethereum and BNB Smart Chain, it's 0x followed by 64 characters. On Bitcoin and TRON, it's 64 characters of numbers and the letters a to f, with no 0x. A Solana transaction signature is longer, at around 88 mixed letters and numbers.

Step 2: Pick the explorer for the network

The network you sent on decides the explorer, not the coin. USDT sent on TRON shows up on a TRON explorer and nowhere else.

Network	Explorer to use
Bitcoin	mempool.space or blockchair.com
Ethereum (ERC20 tokens)	etherscan.io
BNB Smart Chain (BEP20 tokens)	bscscan.com
TRON (TRC20 tokens)	tronscan.org
Solana	solscan.io
Litecoin, Dogecoin, Bitcoin Cash	blockchair.com

Type the explorer's address yourself or use a bookmark. Look-alike explorer sites and doctored screenshots exist precisely because people trust what an explorer shows. Paste the TXID into the search box at the top of the page.

Step 3: Read the page

Explorers look busy, but you only need a handful of fields.

• Status. "Success" or "Confirmed" means the network accepted it. "Pending" or "Unconfirmed" means it's still waiting. "Failed" means it didn't go through.
• Block and confirmations. The block your transaction is in, and how many blocks have been added since. Receiving apps wait for a certain number before crediting you. Our guide to blockchain confirmations explains why.
• From and To. Compare the receiving address, in full, with the address you meant to send to. For token transfers such as USDT, read the token transfer section: the top-level "To" is often the token's contract rather than the person who received it.
• Amount and token. For a USDT transfer, the main "Value" field may show 0 ETH, 0 BNB or 0 TRX. That's normal. The USDT amount sits in the token transfer section.
• Fee. What the network charged for the transfer.
• Time. Many explorers show times in UTC, so check which time zone the page uses. Nigeria is one hour ahead of UTC, so 14:05 UTC is 3:05pm in Lagos.

A quick example

Emeka's client says 500 USDT was sent at about 2pm. Emeka asks for the TXID and pastes it into Tronscan. Status: success. Token transfer: 500 USDT. Receiving address: an exact match, character for character, with the address Emeka gave the client. Time: 13:02 UTC, so 2:02pm Lagos time.

The money is on its way, and there's nothing to chase. If the receiving address had been different, Emeka would know within a minute that the client had sent it somewhere else, and could say so politely with proof.

What the result tells you

What you see	What it usually means	What to do
Success, right address, several confirmations	It has arrived on the blockchain	If it's still not credited, contact the receiving platform with the TXID
Pending or unconfirmed	Still waiting to be added to a block	Wait. On Bitcoin, a low fee can mean a long wait; see unconfirmed Bitcoin transactions
Failed	The coins didn't move, though the fee may still have been charged	Fix the cause, such as too little TRX or ETH for fees, then send again
Not found	Wrong explorer for the network, or not broadcast yet	Check the network used, and ask the sender's platform
Success, but to a different address	Sent somewhere you didn't intend	Read sent crypto to the wrong address

For coins that use a memo or destination tag, such as XRP, also check the memo shown on the explorer against the one the receiving app gave you. A missing memo is a common reason a successful transfer doesn't show up. See memo and destination tags.

Using it with support

When you contact any support team about a deposit, send everything at once:

1. The coin and the network you used.
2. The amount.
3. The TXID.
4. The address you sent to, and the memo if there was one.
5. The date and time you sent it.
6. A screenshot of the explorer page, if you can.

That turns a back-and-forth of five messages into one answer. A TXID is public, so it's safe to share. Your seed phrase, password, PIN and one-time codes are not, and no genuine support team will ask for them.

For deposits to KWIQ, reach our support team 24/7 through live chat in the app or on kwiq.app, or by email at admin@kwiq.app.

One privacy note

Explorers work both ways. Anyone who has your address can look up its balance and history, which is worth knowing before you post an address publicly. Our guide on sharing your wallet address covers how to handle that.

From confirmed to naira

Once your deposit is confirmed and shows in KWIQ, selling takes a few taps: you see the rate and the naira amount before you confirm, and swapping crypto to naira is free. Download the KWIQ app to get started, or create a free account on the web if your phone is short on space.