Someone says they’ve sent your BTC and gives you a long reference. Start by opening your own wallet or account and finding the transfer details. This guide walks through a Bitcoin mainnet lookup, shows which amount to read when a transaction has several outputs and gives you a short record to keep if you need help.
Where to find your Bitcoin transaction ID
Open the sending wallet or provider account, choose the BTC transfer in its activity or transaction history and open the details. Look for Transaction ID, TXID, transaction hash or View on block explorer. Copy the complete value rather than the shortened preview.
For example, Coinbase’s current instructions direct users to Transactions, the relevant asset and View on block explorer. Menu names vary between services. If another person or company sent the BTC, ask them for the on-chain TXID through your existing contact channel.
A Bitcoin TXID is 64 hexadecimal characters: digits 0–9 and letters a–f. A provider can also give you an order or withdrawal reference for its own records. If you only have that reference, ask whether the on-chain transfer has been broadcast and where to find its TXID. Your receiving address is a separate detail used to match the payment.
How to look up the payment
Use your wallet’s explorer link, or open a known Bitcoin explorer such as Blockstream Explorer yourself. Confirm that you’re viewing Bitcoin mainnet. An explorer may also offer test networks or other assets. Blockstream’s lookup guide explains the fields available on its transaction pages.
- Paste the full TXID into the explorer’s search field and open the matching transaction.
- Find the receiving address among the outputs. Compare the entire address with the one recorded for this transfer in your own wallet or deposit instructions.
- Read the BTC amount beside that output. A transaction can pay several addresses, so the transaction total can include other payments or change returned to the sender.
- Read the confirmation status, then compare it with the receiving service’s current deposit requirements.
- Save the TXID and your check time with the order or transfer record. Reopen your receiving wallet or account to confirm its balance or deposit status.
Looking up a public record requires no wallet connection, recovery phrase or payment. If a page asks you to unlock a wallet to view a transaction, close it and open the explorer directly. Keep wallet recovery words private.
Worked example: which amount is yours?
Suppose your withdrawal preview says you’ll receive 0.00120000 BTC after the provider’s charges. The explorer shows the following simplified transaction. These are invented amounts and labels for teaching; they represent no customer or live payment.
Scroll across the table to see all columns.
| Record | BTC | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| Total input value | 0.00500000 | Value used to fund this transaction |
| Output A: your recorded receiving address | 0.00120000 | 120,000 satoshis paid to your address |
| Output B: another address | 0.00378000 | A separate output; ownership is unspecified in this example |
| Total outputs | 0.00498000 | Output A plus output B |
| Network fee | 0.00002000 | Inputs minus outputs: 2,000 satoshis |
Your check is 0.00120000 BTC at the exact address you supplied. Adding both outputs would overstate what reached that address by 0.00378000 BTC. Subtracting the network fee again from Output A would understate it: the output already specifies the value allocated there. Compare the actual output with the provider’s promised net delivery amount.
Bitcoin’s transaction documentation explains inputs and outputs. For the earlier purchase calculation, our network-fee vs. withdrawal-fee guide helps you separate a provider’s charge from the transaction’s miner fee.
What the result tells you to do next
Use the current record and the recipient’s instructions together. Coinbase’s pending-deposit guidance, for example, tells recipients to check network confirmations and supported networks when investigating a missing deposit. The service receiving your payment sets its own crediting rules.
Scroll across the table to see all columns.
| What you see | What to check next |
|---|---|
| Transaction found, zero confirmations | It is visible to this explorer and waiting for block inclusion. Use our unconfirmed-transaction guide for sender-specific options. |
| Confirmed, address and amount match | Check the receiving wallet or service. If its deposit requirements are met, send support the TXID and matching output details. |
| Transaction found, destination differs | Compare with the original transfer instructions immediately. Contact the sender or provider through its official channel before sending more. |
| No matching transaction | Recheck the full TXID, Bitcoin mainnet selection and sender’s current broadcast status. Ask for an updated TXID if the transaction was replaced. |
| You have a Lightning payment reference | Open the payment details in the Lightning wallet and ask that service which record to use for support. |
A missing explorer result can have several causes, including a copied reference for the wrong network or a transfer still inside the sender’s processing queue. Establish which stage you’re checking before attempting another payment. For longer waits, use the unconfirmed Bitcoin troubleshooting guide. For different payment records, see Bitcoin vs. Lightning.
Keep this payment-checking worksheet
Fill this in while both the transfer details and receiving instructions are open. Share it privately with the service handling the transfer if you need help:
- Transfer or order reference: ____; network shown by sender: ____.
- Full on-chain TXID and the time I checked it: ____.
- Receiving address recorded for this transfer: ____.
- Net BTC expected: ____; BTC at the matching output: ____.
- Confirmations now: ____; receiving service’s required confirmations and minimum deposit: ____.
- Current receiving-wallet or account status: ____.
A useful support message is: ‘My BTC transfer has this TXID. At this time, the explorer shows this amount at my recorded receiving address with this many confirmations. My receiving account still shows this status. Can you check the deposit and tell me the next step?’ Include the order reference through the official support form; omit passwords, one-time codes and recovery words.
Keep the worksheet out of public posts. Bitcoin.org’s privacy guidance explains that public transaction and address records can expose financial activity. Sharing a TXID alongside your name can connect you with that record.
Planning your purchase? The Buy Bitcoin guide covers payment-method choices, costs and delivery checks. Keep the payment receipt, purchase reference and eventual wallet transaction together so you can follow the full purchase from funding to receipt.
Sources & further reading
General payment information and purchase-specific details serve different purposes. Review the current offer and terms before proceeding.
- Blockstream — Look up a Bitcoin transaction
- Coinbase — Find a transaction hash
- Bitcoin developer guide — Transaction inputs and outputs
- Coinbase — Pending crypto deposits
- Bitcoin.org — Protect your privacy
Original Fiat2Bitcoin guide. Examples are illustrative; they are not live quotes or customer transactions. How we prepare our guides.
