How to Verify Your Crypto Donation on a Block Explorer
Every crypto donation is recorded on a public blockchain, so you don't have to take anyone's word that it arrived. Here's how to look it up yourself on each network we accept, what to check, and what the status messages mean.
By Global Relief Group · Last updated:
Public by design
Anyone can look up a transaction on a block explorer with its transaction ID. No account or login needed.
Three checks
Is it successful or confirmed? Did it go to our address? Is the coin and amount right?
Type the address yourself
Look-alike explorer sites exist. Type the explorer’s address into your browser rather than following links.
Before you start
You need your transaction ID (TXID or transaction hash). If you don’t have it yet, our guide to finding your transaction ID shows where it is in each exchange and wallet. Have our receiving address for that coin to hand too: it’s shown on the donation screen when you choose the coin.
Checking an explorer proves your gift reached the address we published. It doesn’t show when the grant was paid out to the partner organization or how they used it; that’s explained on How We Vet Causes.
Use the right explorer
Each blockchain has its own explorers, and a transaction only appears on an explorer for its own network. Searching a TRON transaction on Etherscan will simply find nothing.
| Coin | Network | Explorers |
|---|---|---|
| BTC | Bitcoin | mempool.space |
| ETH, USDC | Ethereum | etherscan.io |
| BNB | BNB Smart Chain | bscscan.com |
| USDT, TRX | TRON | tronscan.org |
| SOL | Solana | solscan.io, explorer.solana.com |
| XRP | XRP Ledger | livenet.xrpl.org, xrpscan.com, bithomp.com |
| DOGE | Dogecoin | live.blockcypher.com/doge, sochain.com |
The three things to check
- Status. It should say Success, Confirmed or Finalized. On the XRP Ledger, look for a validated result of tesSUCCESS. Pending means it hasn’t been added to a block yet.
- Recipient. The receiving address must match the one on our donation screen, all the way through, not just the start and end. For USDC and USDT, check the token transfer line rather than the main “To” field.
- Coin and amount. The coin, and for tokens the token contract, must be what you meant to send, and the amount must match.
Explorer by explorer
Bitcoin on mempool.space
Paste the transaction ID into the search box. The page shows whether the transaction is unconfirmed or confirmed, and how many confirmations it has. A Bitcoin transaction can have several outputs, usually one to the recipient and one returning “change” to the sender, so look for the output paying our bc1q address and check its amount.
Ethereum and USDC on Etherscan
- Status shows Success. A failed transaction shows Fail: the network fee was spent, but nothing was sent.
- For ETH, check the To field and Value.
- For USDC, the Value shows 0 ETH and the “Interacted With (To)” field shows the USDC contract, because a token transfer is a call to that contract. The real details are under ERC-20 Tokens Transferred: it should show our address and the amount in USDC. Click the token to confirm its contract is
0xA0b86991c6218b36c1d19D4a2e9Eb0cE3606eB48. - Times are shown in UTC by default, so the date can differ from yours by a day.
BNB on BscScan
BscScan is made by the Etherscan team and works the same way. Our BNB address is the same 0x address as for ETH, so make sure you’re on BscScan for a BNB donation and on Etherscan for ETH or USDC; on the wrong one, the transaction won’t be found.
USDT and TRX on TRONSCAN
Look for a successful result and a confirmed status. For USDT, find the token transfer section: it should show USDT going to our T address, and the token contract should be TR7NHqjeKQxGTCi8q8ZY4pL8otSzgjLj6t. Check the amount is in USDT, not TRX. If a USDT transfer failed, for example with OUT_OF_ENERGY, the USDT wasn’t sent but the TRX spent on energy isn’t refunded.
SOL on Solscan
The Result should say Success and the confirmation status Finalized, which means it can’t be rolled back. The Balance Changes tab shows how much SOL each address gained or lost: our address should show the amount you sent. A failed Solana transaction still charges its fee.
XRP on an XRP Ledger explorer
The XRP Ledger lists livenet.xrpl.org, XRPScan and Bithomp among its explorers. A payment is final once its ledger is validated, and tesSUCCESS means it succeeded. Check the delivered amount rather than the “Amount” field: a feature called partial payments means the two can differ, and the delivered amount is what actually arrived.
DOGE on BlockCypher or SoChain
Like Bitcoin, a Dogecoin transaction is either confirmed or not yet confirmed, and it can have several outputs. Find the output paying our D address and check its amount.
If it says pending, failed, not found or replaced
- Pending or unconfirmed: it’s waiting to be added to a block. On Bitcoin and Ethereum this can take hours if the fee was low. See the stuck-transaction advice in our Bitcoin and Ethereum guides.
- Failed: on Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, TRON, Solana and the XRP Ledger, a failed transaction still costs its fee, but the donation wasn’t sent. You can send again.
- Not found: check you’re on the right network’s explorer and that you copied the whole ID. A very recent exchange withdrawal may not have been broadcast yet.
- Replaced: if you sped up a transaction by replacing it, it gets a new ID. On Etherscan the old one shows as “Dropped & Replaced”. Open the replacement and check it still pays our address the right amount (a cancelled transaction is replaced by one that sends nothing to us), then send us that ID.
Fake explorers and fake screenshots
- Look-alike explorer sites exist, including copies of TRONSCAN on lookalike domains. Type the explorer’s address yourself, and don’t follow explorer links sent to you in messages.
- Screenshots prove nothing. They can be edited, cropped or taken from a different transaction. Always check the transaction ID yourself.
- Token names prove nothing. Anyone can create a token called USDT or USDC. Only the token’s contract address identifies the real one.
- Ignore odd tiny transfers that appear next to yours. Address-poisoning scammers send small or zero-value transfers from look-alike addresses; explorers like Etherscan hide or label many of them.
Common questions
The explorer shows my donation arrived. Why is it still pending on your site?
Our team verifies each transaction on the blockchain before marking it confirmed and sending your receipt. If it has been confirmed on-chain for a while and still shows as pending, contact us with the transaction ID.
Why does the USDC transaction show 0 ETH?
A USDC transfer is a call to the USDC token contract, so no ETH moves. The USDC amount is shown under ERC-20 Tokens Transferred.
The time on the explorer is different from when I sent it. Is something wrong?
No. Many explorers show times in UTC, so the time, and sometimes the date, can differ from your local time.
Can I see where my donation went after it reached your address?
You can see that it arrived and that it’s held in our wallet. Within 24 hours of confirmation, the donation is converted and sent to the partner organization by bank transfer, so that payment doesn’t appear on the blockchain.