Transaction Receipt

Overview

What it means and why it exists

A transaction receipt is a network-generated record of what happened when a transaction executed. On Ethereum it contains information such as execution status, gas used and emitted event logs.

How it works

After a block executes, software retrieves the receipt by transaction hash and checks that it belongs to the correct chain and block. A processor can inspect status and logs to identify a token transfer, including token contract, sender, receiver and amount. For Solidity token transfers, the relevant log must come from the intended contract rather than an arbitrary contract imitating the event.

Technical details worth understanding

A receipt is especially useful when one transaction invokes several contracts. The top-level recipient may be a contract, while a log contains the actual token movement. Receipt log indexes distinguish multiple transfers in the same transaction. Bitcoin uses different structures and does not have an Ethereum-style execution receipt for simple UTXO payments.

What can go wrong

A receipt with success status alone does not prove a particular merchant was paid. Reorganizations can alter which block contains a receipt, while malicious contracts can emit misleading event names. Always bind the log to a recognized contract and the expected recipient and amount.

Practical checks

Always bind a receipt lookup to network and transaction hash. Inspect log addresses, topics and recipient values and consider log indexes when several transfers are emitted. A screenshot of a green 'Success' label is inadequate evidence for settlement if it lacks the actual destination and asset contract identity.

Related concepts

Blockchain, Bitcoin (BTC), Transaction Hash.

Further reading

Bitcoin Developer Guide — Transactions.