My Deposit Is Stuck — Recovery Playbook
A stuck deposit usually means the chain is confirming slowly, the IPN failed silently, or the deposit was sent to the wrong network. Walk through the checklist; reach support if nothing resolves.
Step 1: check the blockchain explorer
Look up the transaction hash on the source blockchain explorer. blockchain.com for BTC. etherscan.io for ETH. tronscan.org for TRC-20. solscan.io for Solana.
Confirm the transaction actually sent and has the required confirmations. If it shows as confirmed but Rust Snowball hasn't credited, this is the most common case and usually resolves via reconciler within 30 minutes to 12 hours.
If the on-chain side has confirmations and the network matches, the deposit will eventually credit. Patience plus a support ticket gets you there.
Step 2: verify network match
Check that the network you selected on Rust Snowball matches the network you sent from. Cross-network sends (USDT ERC-20 sent to a TRC-20 address) are typically unrecoverable.
Address looks similar but format is incompatible across networks. If the network mismatched, the deposit landed at someone else's wallet on the other chain.
Step 3: wait for IPN retries
NOWPayments retries failed IPN callbacks several times over about 30 minutes. Most stuck deposits resolve in this window.
If after 30 minutes the deposit hasn't credited despite on-chain confirmation, the reconciler runs every 5 minutes to catch missed IPNs. Most are caught within an hour.
Step 4: support ticket
After an hour with no credit despite on-chain confirmation and matched network: open a support ticket with the transaction hash. Median resolution time: 4-12 hours during business hours.
Support has visibility into the bot inventory and the reconciler queue. Manual reconciliation is straightforward when the on-chain side is verifiable.
Frequently asked questions
- Will I lose my money if a deposit is stuck?
- Almost never. If you sent to the correct address on the correct network, the deposit will eventually credit. Wrong-network sends are the only common irrecoverable case.
- How long should I wait before a ticket?
- 30 minutes if your transaction has confirmations on-chain. 24 hours for first-time deposits with new wallets. After that, open a ticket.
- What if my BTC has 0 confirmations after an hour?
- BTC mempool can be congested. Check mempool.space — if it's queued, you're waiting for miners. If it dropped from the mempool, the transaction needs to be re-sent (rare).
- Can support credit before on-chain confirmation?
- No. We wait for chain confirmation to prevent double-spend or unconfirmed-transaction griefing. The reconciler model means once confirmed, you will be credited even if the IPN failed.