Why a transaction waits
Part of the fee you pay is a bid to have the transaction processed sooner — the priority fee (MetaMask Help Center). ethereum.org describes it as the tip offered to the validator, on top of the gas the transaction consumes (ethereum.org). When that bid is low for how busy the network is, the transaction waits. MetaMask also acknowledges that sometimes something goes wrong and a transaction simply stays pending for a very long time.
Every transaction from an account also carries a nonce: a counter that increases by one with each transaction the account sends (ethereum.org). That counter is why an old pending transaction matters for the new ones behind it.
Speed up
MetaMask’s Speed up resubmits the same transaction with a higher fee, so it has a better chance of being picked up. Because it reuses the same nonce as the original, you do not pay for gas twice (MetaMask Help Center). If you still want the transaction to happen, speeding it up is the option that keeps it.
Cancel
Cancel is an attempt, not a promise. MetaMask states that a cancellation can only be attempted while the transaction is still pending on the network; once the original has been processed, there is nothing left to cancel. And the order matters: you cannot cancel the transaction with one nonce before cancelling the one before it, so you work backwards from the oldest pending transaction in the queue (MetaMask Help Center).
At the time of checking, MetaMask’s extension listed Ethereum, Linea, BNB Smart Chain, Arbitrum, Base and Polygon as the networks where these options apply.
Do not reset the account on your own
MetaMask offers a way to clear an account’s activity, and it is easy to reach for when something looks stuck. MetaMask’s own guidance is to do it only when a member of its Support team suggests it, and only if the transaction is not visible on the block explorer: clearing wipes the transaction history, including MetaMask’s knowledge of pending transactions (MetaMask Help Center).
A stuck transaction is also a moment when people go looking for help, and some of the “help” is not. MetaMask Support will never ask for your Secret Recovery Phrase; anyone who does is trying to take your assets (MetaMask Help Center).
If it was part of a bridge transfer
A bridge transfer starts with a transaction on the source network, and that is the part that can sit on pending. Once it is confirmed, what happens next depends on the route rather than on your wallet — see moving crypto between networks.
Questions
Why is my MetaMask transaction stuck on pending?
Either the fee offered to have it processed was low for how busy the network was, so it waits, or an earlier transaction from the same account is still pending ahead of it in the queue. MetaMask also notes that occasionally something goes wrong and a transaction simply stays pending.
How do I cancel a stuck transaction in MetaMask?
Use Cancel on the pending transaction while it is still pending; MetaMask is clear that a cancellation can only be attempted, not guaranteed. If several are pending, start with the oldest — a later one cannot be cancelled before an earlier one.
Why is my Polygon transaction stuck?
For the same reason as on any network: the fee offered was not enough to be picked up promptly, or an earlier transaction is still pending. Polygon is among the networks where MetaMask's speed up and cancel are available.
Sources
- MetaMask Help Center — how to speed up or cancel a pending transaction · checked 2026-09-14
- MetaMask Help Center — resetting your account for a stuck or pending transaction · checked 2026-09-14
- ethereum.org — transactions · checked 2026-09-14
- MetaMask Help Center — basic safety and security tips · checked 2026-09-14