Send crypto with peace of mind: introducing 1-tap stop/speed up transactions

Is there anything more stressful than sending a transaction on the blockchain and having to wait for the final confirmation that it arrived? 

Did I enter the correct address? Will it arrive on time? Will it arrive at all? Did I pay enough fees for it to arrive? How many confirmations will be required for it to show final?

Unlike what we know of the traditional world of centralized finance – where anything can be reversed at any time- sending a crypto transaction on chain (with  a decentralized service) is an irreversible adventure where you, the user, are alone, relying on your own knowledge and patience. Once the “send” button is pressed, there is no way back. A sent transaction, is a sent transaction. At least until today.

Stop/Speed up transactions in 1 tap.

In our ongoing effort to make the transaction experience simpler, safer, and more pleasant (what we internally call TxUx) we are introducing today a set of innovations that will put you in the driver’s seat, in control of what happens even after you send a transaction.

Now you can now a transaction, or speed it up when you desire. You can change your mind. This extra peace of mind is material. You can reverse a transaction that was sent to the wrong address or accelerate a critical transaction that must arrive fast  All with 1 single tap.

How is that possible?

We are using a technique called RBF (replace by fee) that will make it happen. This method allows you to modify the state of a transaction after it was sent by paying an extra fee (to the blockchain miners network, not Zengo). We have not invented this part of the code, which is core to many blockchains, but we made it radically simpler to use across the board. 

Zengo is the only wallet that will allow you to reverse or speed up a transaction on Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and the supported ERC20 tokens. This functionality will be available across all the major services we provide in Zengo (sending, saving, trading) and certainly with the simplest implementation.

The only condition: you need to do this before your transaction hits the first confirmation on the blockchain. Zengo will show you this option as long as the transaction hasn’t been confirmed yet and you have time to modify it .You won’t have to guess.

How does that work?

Send your transaction. Oops. Did you just change your mind? 

Just tap on the status of the transaction not yet confirmed (pending).

You will now be introduced to a new native transaction view with rich, crisp information on the status of the transaction. You will no longer be sent directly to a blockchain explorer view, which may be overwhelming and confusing (you can still access it further down if you need to). 

Tap on the little arrow next to the pending status, and if available, you will see the option to stop/speed up that same transaction.

Choose the option to stop /speed. Tap on it, agree to pay the extra fee (to the network and not to Zengo – we do not charge anything for this), and watch the magic happen (allow some time for the blockchain to process).

A few necessary disclosures

Although we built this for maximum reliability, the ability to stop/speed up transactions is provided without absolute guarantee of result. There is always a chance the network status may not allow that change and every user should be aware of this.

The network fees may vary significantly between moments of the day or week as this is directly related to how congested the network is.

After a transaction is confirmed, there is no way to use this service in any way. Miners have already processed this transaction.

There should be enough time between the moment you send a transaction and a first on chain confirmation happens. That can widely vary according to the nature of the network. That’s why for example such an option cannot be offered on “fast” chains like Doge, where the technical option is available.

As usual in blockchains, nothing is “instant”. Allow some time for the miners to process your stop/speed up request.

Cancel/Speed up is only available for Bitcoin, Ethereum/ERC20. Other chains we support will not be compatible (mostly because they have very fast processing time which would not allow enough time to make the change).

More control, more peace of mind

We know crypto transactions are stressful. In particular when markets and networks are congested. A few months ago we decided to address this and made it a priority. We introduced a way for you to simply pick a custom fee, to control the speed and the cost of a transaction before a transaction is made.

Today we are introducing our new, zen, native view of the transaction status and the option to stop/speed up transactions when needed. Putting you in control after a transaction is made. That’s what this is all about. And this is only the beginning of a set of innovations that will take your crypto transactions on Zengo to the next level.

Enjoy and stay zen!