# Reading a Block Explorer to Confirm a Payment Arrived

> Five fields on an explorer page tell you whether a payment is done, pending or never going to arrive.

- Source: https://thecoinworkbook.com/reading-a-block-explorer/
- Published: 2026-08-28
- Author: Gabriel Mas
- Publication: The Coin Workbook — Do it once, with the steps written down
- Topic: acquiring
- Tags: acquiring, verification, payments

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A block explorer is a public search engine for a network. Given a transaction reference, it answers the only question that matters: did this happen.

## Step 1: get the reference

The sender's wallet or exchange shows a transaction hash after sending. It is a long string of letters and numbers.

Without it you can still search the receiving address, which shows everything that arrived there.

## Step 2: use the right explorer

Each network has its own. A reference from one network will simply not be found on another explorer, which is itself a useful diagnosis.

If nothing is found anywhere, the transaction was probably never broadcast.

## Step 3: read the status

Success, pending, or failed. Pending means it is waiting for inclusion. Failed means it was included and did not do what it intended, and the fee was still charged.

A failed transaction will never arrive. Waiting longer does nothing.

## Step 4: read the confirmations

A number that increases over time. Most venues credit after a set number, published in their deposit policy.

Zero confirmations means broadcast but not yet included. One or more means included and increasingly settled.

## Step 5: check the destination address

Compare the address on the explorer against the one you gave out, character by character at both ends.

If they differ, the sender used the wrong address, and the explorer is now telling you where the money went instead.

## The three outcomes

Success, enough confirmations, right address: the money arrived and any delay is on the receiving venue's side.

Success, right address, not credited: contact the receiving venue with the hash.

Wrong address or wrong network: the sender made the error and the explorer is the evidence.

## Why this is worth learning

It converts an argument into a fact. Support conversations that begin with a transaction hash are resolved in one message, and those that begin with a screenshot are not.

[An exchange with a withdrawal flow you can follow without guessing](https://collectnexchange.cy/services/crypto-exchange) gives you the hash at the moment of sending rather than on request. [A platform where each step tells you what happens next](https://collectnexchange.cy/) will also tell you how many confirmations it waits for, which turns waiting into something you can predict. [Collect & Exchange](https://collectnexchange.cy/services/crypto-payment) publishes those thresholds per asset.

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This article explains how something works. It is not financial advice.
Canonical HTML version: https://thecoinworkbook.com/reading-a-block-explorer/