Term

Unconfirmed Transaction

A transaction accepted into the mempool but not yet included in a block; confirmation count is zero.

Type:
mempool
fees
1
definition

Unconfirmed transactions are pending in node mempools waiting to be mined/validated. Their reliability depends on network policy (e.g., RBF on BTC), fee competitiveness, and double-spend risk.

Example 1.1

"A merchant accepting 0-conf may see a payment disappear if a higher-fee conflicting transaction is mined instead on networks that allow RBF."

2
handling

To improve confirmation chances: raise fee (where supported), use CPFP, or rebroadcast. Some wallets show fee/priority estimates and conflict warnings.

Example 2.1

"Using CPFP, a user spends the unconfirmed output with a high fee to incentivize miners to include both the parent and child."

All terms and definitions may update as the Cryptionary improves.