Every action on Solana — sending tokens, swapping assets, minting an NFT — starts as a transaction. Understanding that journey helps you read block explorers and spot when something has gone wrong.
Accounts, not balances in one place
Solana stores data in accounts. Your wallet address points to an account that holds your SOL balance and possibly other token balances. Programs (smart contracts) also live in accounts. A transaction is essentially a set of instructions telling the network how to change one or more accounts.
Signing with your keypair
Your wallet holds a private key. When you approve a transaction, your wallet signs it cryptographically. The signature proves you authorised the change without revealing the private key itself. If someone else obtains your private key or seed phrase, they can sign transactions as you.
Submission and confirmation
After signing, your wallet sends the transaction to an RPC node — a server that talks to the network. Validators pick it up, check that the signature is valid and the accounts have sufficient funds, then include it in a block. Confirmation times are typically under a second under normal conditions, though congestion can cause delays or failures.
Fees
Solana charges a small fee per transaction, paid in SOL. Most simple transfers cost a fraction of a penny. Failed transactions may still incur a fee because validators did work processing the attempt.
Reading a block explorer
Tools like Solscan or the Solana Explorer let you paste a transaction signature and see its status. Green means confirmed. Red or “failed” means the transaction did not complete — check the error message for details such as insufficient funds or program errors.
Common beginner confusion
- Pending vs confirmed: Wallets may show “pending” briefly. Wait for explorer confirmation before assuming success.
- Wrong address: Transactions to incorrect addresses cannot be reversed.
- Token accounts: Some tokens require a separate token account to be created first, which costs a small rent deposit.
For wallet-specific steps, continue to our wallet types guide.