Why Is My EVM Transaction Pending After Using a Custom Fee?
How Custom Fees Work in Gem Wallet
On Ethereum and other EVM networks, Gem Wallet lets you set a Custom network fee with two values in Gwei. See How to Set Custom Network Fees on EVM Networks.
- Base Fee is the most you agree to pay per unit of gas for the network's base fee. You only pay the network's actual base fee; the rest isn't charged.
- Priority Fee is the tip that encourages validators to include your transaction sooner.
Gem Wallet won't let you set a Base Fee lower than what Normal would use, or a Priority Fee below the network's minimum. So a custom fee is never easier to get stuck than Normal. It can still stay pending in the situations below.
Why the Transaction Is Still Pending
| Cause | What's happening |
|---|---|
| The network's base fee rose above your Base Fee | A transaction can only be included while the network's base fee is at or below the Base Fee you signed. The base fee can rise up to 12.5% per block during busy periods. On networks other than Ethereum, Gem Wallet adds 20% headroom to protect against this; on Ethereum, it signs the next block's base fee with no headroom, so a quick rise can delay the transaction |
| Your Priority Fee is low for current demand | When blocks are full, validators pick transactions with higher tips first. A transaction with a minimum tip can wait longer |
| An earlier transaction is stuck | Transactions from the same address are processed in order (by nonce). If an earlier one is pending, every later one waits behind it, even if it has a higher fee |
| The node hasn't seen it yet | Right after sending, the node may not have the transaction yet. Gem Wallet shows it as Pending until the network reports it |
Check the Transaction
- Open the transaction in Activity and confirm it shows Pending.
- Open it in the network's block explorer from the transaction details.
- On the explorer, compare:
- Max Fee per Gas (your Base Fee plus Priority Fee) with the network's current base fee.
- Max Priority Fee per Gas with what recent transactions are paying.
- The nonce: is there an earlier transaction from your address that is still pending?
If your Max Fee per Gas is below the current base fee, the transaction is waiting for fees to drop.
What to Do
- Wait for the base fee to fall. Base fees usually drop again after a busy period, and the transaction then confirms without any action.
- Don't send the same payment again as a new transaction. It would get the next nonce, wait behind the pending one, and then both could go through, sending the payment twice.
- Keep the fee coin. Leave enough ETH, or the network's fee coin, in the wallet so the transaction can still be included when fees allow.
- If it disappears from the explorer, the network has dropped it. Nothing was sent and no fee was charged, and Gem Wallet updates the transaction once the network reports it. You can then send again with the Normal or Fast fee.
Gem Wallet doesn't currently offer Speed Up or Cancel for a pending transaction. See Why Is My Crypto Transaction Pending? for general pending-transaction guidance.
Avoid It Next Time
- Use Normal or Fast unless you need a specific fee. Gem Wallet's suggestions already include headroom on most EVM networks.
- If you set a custom fee on Ethereum during busy periods, leave the Base Fee field empty so it follows the network, and raise only the Priority Fee.
- Wait for one transaction to confirm before sending the next from the same address.