Why Is My Core Wallet Transaction Stuck Pending on Avalanche C-Chain and How Do I Fix It?

18 October 2026

A transaction stuck as "pending" on avalanche-chain/avalanche-c-chain-vs-subnet-smart-contract-deployment-costs-compared/">Avalanche C-Chain means the network has not confirmed it yet. This usually happens because the nonce is out of order, the gas fee is too low relative to current demand, or the transaction was sent to a node that is not syncing properly. The fix depends on the cause, but the safest general approach is to either replace the transaction with a higher fee or cancel it entirely.

How a Pending Transaction Works on C-Chain

The Avalanche C-Chain uses the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), so pending transactions behave much like they do on Ethereum. When you send a transaction, it enters the mempool. Validators pick transactions to include in blocks based on the gas fee you offered (the priority fee, or "tip") and the current network congestion. If your fee is too low, validators may ignore it. If you then send another transaction with the same nonce but a higher fee, validators will prefer that one.

A transaction can also get stuck if you sent it with a nonce that is not the next one expected by the network. Every account on C-Chain has a nonce counter. If you have a pending transaction with nonce 5, any transaction with nonce 6 will also be stuck until nonce 5 confirms. This is the most common cause of "stuck pending" in Core Wallet: the wallet may have queued a transaction at a nonce you did not intend.

Step 1: Check the Transaction Details

Open Core Wallet and go to the transaction history. Find the stuck transaction. Click on it to see its full details. Look for:

• Nonce: This number must match the next expected nonce for your account. If it is higher than the expected nonce, that is the root cause.
• Gas fee: Compare the "max fee" and "priority fee" to current network conditions. If they are far below the current recommended fees, the transaction may be waiting indefinitely.
• Status: If it shows "pending" for more than a few hours, it is likely stuck.

If you have a block explorer like SnowTrace (now part of the Avalanche explorer family), you can paste your address there and see the pending nonce queue. The explorer will list all pending transactions for your account and their nonces.

Step 2: Speed Up the Transaction (Replace with Higher Fee)

If the nonce is correct but the fee is too low, you can "speed up" the transaction. This sends the same transaction data (same recipient, same amount) with a higher gas fee and the same nonce. Validators will prefer the new one.

In Core Wallet, the "speed up" option appears automatically for some pending transactions. If it does not:

• Open the stuck transaction.
• Look for a button labelled "Speed Up" or "Replace with higher fee." If it is there, click it, choose a higher fee (Core Wallet may suggest one), and confirm.
• If no button appears, you may need to use the manual method below.

Step 3: Cancel the Transaction

If speeding up does not work, or if you no longer want the transaction to go through, you can cancel it. Cancellation is done by sending a transaction with the same nonce, zero value, no data, and a higher fee. The network will process the cancel instead of the original.

In Core Wallet:

• Find the stuck transaction and see if a "Cancel" button is available. If so, click it. The wallet will automatically create a cancel transaction.
• If no cancel button appears, switch to a more advanced wallet like MetaMask or a dedicated tool (see Step 4).

Step 4: Use a Manual Nonce Reset with MetaMask (If Core Wallet Cannot Fix It)

If Core Wallet is not offering a speed-up or cancel option, the stuck transaction may be due to a nonce gap. The reliable fix is to import your Core Wallet seed phrase into MetaMask (or another EVM-compatible wallet) and manually send a replacement or cancel transaction.

Warning: Importing your seed phrase into another wallet temporarily exposes your keys. Only do this on a trusted, secure device, and remove the import as soon as the fix is done.

1. In MetaMask, add the Avalanche C-Chain network (RPC: https://api.avax.network/ext/bc/C/rpc, Chain ID: 43114).
2. Import your Core Wallet account using the seed phrase.
3. In MetaMask, go to Settings > Advanced > Clear activity tab data. This resets MetaMask's local nonce tracking.
4. Enable "Customize transaction nonce" in MetaMask's advanced settings.
5. Now, to cancel: Send a transaction to your own address with 0 AVAX, a high gas fee (e.g., 50 nAVAX priority fee), and the same nonce as the stuck transaction. MetaMask will let you set the nonce manually. Confirm.
6. To speed up: Send the same transaction again, but with a higher fee and the same nonce.

Once the replacement or cancel transaction confirms (usually within a few blocks), the original pending transaction will disappear. You can then send new transactions normally.

Step 5: If Nothing Works - Wait and Reset

In rare cases, especially if the network is congested or a node is poorly synced, a pending transaction may linger for days. The Avalanche C-Chain mempool eventually drops unconfirmed transactions, but this can take 24 - 48 hours. If you cannot cancel or speed up, you may need to wait.

Alternatively, you can reset your wallet's local transaction history. In Core Wallet, go to Settings > Clear Cache (or similar). This does not change anything on the blockchain, but it can force the wallet to re-sync and sometimes drop stale pending entries from its local view. This will not cancel the transaction on-chain, but it may let you send new ones with the correct nonce.

Preventing future stuck transactions

• Always check the current recommended gas fees before sending. Core Wallet shows a fee estimate; if the network is busy, choose a slightly higher priority fee.
• Avoid sending multiple transactions in rapid succession unless you carefully manage nonces. Core Wallet sometimes queues transactions with sequential nonces, and if one fails, the rest get stuck.
• Use a manual nonce setting in Core Wallet (if available) or MetaMask when you need precise control.
• If you are sending to a contract (e.g., a bridge or DeFi app), ensure you have enough AVAX for gas before you start.

A stuck pending transaction is frustrating, but it is almost always fixable by replacing or cancelling it with a higher fee. The key is identifying whether the nonce is the problem or the fee is too low.

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