What is a transaction hash?
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A transaction hash (also called a transaction ID or txid) is a unique identifier assigned to every blockchain transaction. It is produced by hashing the transaction's contents — sender, recipient, value, data, and nonce — so that even a single-byte change would produce an entirely different hash.
Why it matters
The hash serves as a permanent receipt. Given a transaction hash, anyone can:
- Look up the transaction on a block explorer (e.g., Etherscan) to confirm whether it succeeded, failed, or is still pending.
- Verify the exact amounts transferred, the gas consumed, and the contract interactions involved.
- Prove to a counterparty or support agent that a specific transfer occurred.
Because the hash is deterministic and collision-resistant, two different transactions will never share the same hash.
Best practices
- Copy-paste, never retype. Transaction hashes are long hexadecimal strings. Manual transcription invites errors — always copy directly from your wallet or a block explorer.
- Prefer the hash over a screenshot. A hash lets a support agent query the blockchain directly, whereas a screenshot requires manual interpretation and may be incomplete or ambiguous.
Common confusion
A transaction hash identifies a transaction — a specific on-chain event. A wallet address identifies an account. A token contract address identifies a smart contract. All three are hexadecimal strings, but they refer to fundamentally different objects.