first-transaction.html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<!-- SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-or-later | TestnetHub © 2026 Tech1k -->
<html lang="en" data-theme="dark">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Your first testnet transaction · TestnetHub</title>
<meta name="description" content="Make a wallet, get free coins, send a transaction, and watch it confirm. A complete first testnet payment in about 15 minutes, with no real money.">
<link rel="canonical" href="https://testnethub.com/first-transaction">
<meta name="robots" content="index, follow">
<meta name="referrer" content="no-referrer">
<meta name="theme-color" content="#14161b">
<meta name="author" content="Tech1k">
<meta property="og:type" content="article">
<meta property="og:site_name" content="TestnetHub">
<meta property="og:title" content="Your first testnet transaction · TestnetHub">
<meta property="og:description" content="Make a wallet, get free coins, send a transaction, and watch it confirm. A complete first testnet payment in about 15 minutes, with no real money.">
<meta property="og:url" content="https://testnethub.com/first-transaction">
<meta property="og:image" content="https://testnethub.com/assets/og.png?v=2">
<meta property="og:image:width" content="1200">
<meta property="og:image:height" content="630">
<meta property="og:image:alt" content="TestnetHub: learn crypto with fake coins and real protocols">
<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image">
<meta name="twitter:title" content="Your first testnet transaction · TestnetHub">
<meta name="twitter:description" content="Make a wallet, get free coins, send a transaction, and watch it confirm. A complete first testnet payment in about 15 minutes, with no real money.">
<meta name="twitter:image" content="https://testnethub.com/assets/og.png?v=2">
<link rel="icon" href="/favicon.svg" type="image/svg+xml">
<link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/assets/icon-192.png">
<link rel="manifest" href="/manifest.webmanifest">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Security-Policy" content="default-src 'none'; script-src 'self'; style-src 'self' 'unsafe-inline'; img-src 'self' data:; font-src 'self'; connect-src 'self'; manifest-src 'self'; object-src 'none'; base-uri 'none'; form-action 'none'">
<script src="/assets/theme-init.js?v=1"></script>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/style.css?v=5">
<script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://testnethub.com/#org","name":"TestnetHub","url":"https://testnethub.com/","logo":"https://testnethub.com/favicon.svg"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://testnethub.com/#website","name":"TestnetHub","url":"https://testnethub.com/","publisher":{"@id":"https://testnethub.com/#org"},"description":"Learn the Bitcoin, Litecoin, and Monero testnets with free coins and real protocols."}]}</script>
<script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://testnethub.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Guides","item":"https://testnethub.com/guides"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Your first testnet transaction","item":"https://testnethub.com/first-transaction"}]}</script>
<script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Your first testnet transaction","description":"Make a wallet, get free coins, send a transaction, and watch it confirm. A complete first testnet payment in about 15 minutes, with no real money.","inLanguage":"en","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://testnethub.com/#website"},"publisher":{"@id":"https://testnethub.com/#org"},"author":{"@id":"https://testnethub.com/#org"},"dateModified":"2026-08-07","mainEntityOfPage":"https://testnethub.com/first-transaction"}</script>
</head>
<body>
<a class="skip-link" href="#main">Skip to content</a>
<span id="copy-status" role="status" class="visually-hidden"></span>
<nav class="navbar">
  <a href="/" class="brand" aria-label="TestnetHub home">
    <svg class="brand-logo" viewBox="0 0 64 64" width="26" height="26" aria-hidden="true"><rect class="mark-bg" width="64" height="64" rx="14"/><g stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="3.4" stroke-linecap="round"><line x1="32" y1="32" x2="19" y2="19"/><line x1="32" y1="32" x2="45" y2="19"/><line x1="32" y1="32" x2="19" y2="45"/><line x1="32" y1="32" x2="45" y2="45"/></g><g fill="currentColor"><circle cx="19" cy="19" r="5"/><circle cx="45" cy="19" r="5"/><circle cx="19" cy="45" r="5"/><circle cx="45" cy="45" r="5"/><circle cx="32" cy="32" r="6.5"/></g></svg>
    <span class="brand-name">Testnet<b>Hub</b></span>
  </a>
  <input type="checkbox" class="menu-toggle" id="menu-toggle" aria-label="Open the navigation menu" aria-controls="nav-links">
  <label for="menu-toggle" class="hamburger"><div></div><div></div><div></div></label>
  <div class="nav-links" id="nav-links">
      <a href="/">Home</a>
      <a href="/testnets">Testnets</a>
      <a href="/guides">Guides</a>
      <a href="/tools">Tools</a>
      <a href="/status">Status</a>
      <a href="/donate">Donate</a>
      <button class="theme-toggle" id="theme-toggle" type="button" aria-label="Toggle light / dark theme" title="Toggle theme"><svg class="ico ico-sun" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true"><circle cx="12" cy="12" r="5"/><line x1="12" y1="1" x2="12" y2="3"/><line x1="12" y1="21" x2="12" y2="23"/><line x1="4.22" y1="4.22" x2="5.64" y2="5.64"/><line x1="18.36" y1="18.36" x2="19.78" y2="19.78"/><line x1="1" y1="12" x2="3" y2="12"/><line x1="21" y1="12" x2="23" y2="12"/><line x1="4.22" y1="19.78" x2="5.64" y2="18.36"/><line x1="18.36" y1="5.64" x2="19.78" y2="4.22"/></svg><svg class="ico ico-moon" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M21 12.79A9 9 0 1 1 11.21 3 7 7 0 0 0 21 12.79z"/></svg></button>
  </div>
</nav>

<main id="main" class="filled" tabindex="-1">

<p class="crumb"><a href="/guides">Guides</a> / Your first testnet transaction</p>

  <div class="card hero">
    <div class="card-body">
      <h1><span class="grad">Your first testnet transaction</span></h1>
      <p class="lede">Go from nothing to a real, confirmed send in about 15 minutes. The coins are free and worthless, so you use no real money, and there is nothing to install.</p>
    </div>
  </div>

  <div class="toc">
    <p class="toc-title">On this page</p>
    <ul>
      <li><a href="#overview">What you will do</a></li>
      <li><a href="#wallet">1. Make a testnet wallet</a></li>
      <li><a href="#coins">2. Get some coins</a></li>
      <li><a href="#send">3. Send a transaction</a></li>
      <li><a href="#watch">4. Watch it confirm</a></li>
      <li><a href="#recap">What just happened</a></li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <div class="card"><div class="card-body prose">
    <h2 id="overview">What you will do <a class="anchor" tabindex="-1" href="#overview" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
    <p>This is the short, no-stress path through a full transaction. In four steps you will:</p>
    <ul>
      <li>Make a testnet wallet in your browser.</li>
      <li>Claim some free coins from a faucet.</li>
      <li>Send a transaction and pay a small fee.</li>
      <li>Watch it get confirmed on a block explorer.</li>
    </ul>
    <p>Budget about <strong>15 minutes</strong>. Every coin you touch here is <a href="/why-no-value">worthless test money</a>, so there is no way to lose anything real. If a step feels slow, that is normal for testnet and part of what it teaches you.</p>

    <h2 id="wallet">1. Make a testnet wallet <a class="anchor" tabindex="-1" href="#wallet" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
    <p>Open <a class="ext" href="https://testnetwallet.net" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TestnetWallet</a> (testnetwallet.net). It runs in your browser, so there is nothing to download. Choose to create a <strong>new wallet</strong> and let it generate a fresh one for you.</p>
    <p>It will show you a <strong>seed phrase</strong>, a list of words that backs up this wallet. Write it down or save it somewhere just for testnet. This is a brand-new throwaway wallet, so anything you generate here is fine to use.</p>
    <div class="callout danger">
      <p class="co-title">Never paste a real seed</p>
      <p>Only ever use a <strong>fresh, throwaway</strong> wallet on testnet. Never type or paste a seed phrase from a wallet that holds real coins. If you want to understand why, read <a href="/keys-and-seeds">keys, seeds, and backups</a>.</p>
    </div>
    <p>Want the longer walkthrough with pictures? See the full <a href="/wallet">wallet guide</a>.</p>

    <h2 id="coins">2. Get some coins <a class="anchor" tabindex="-1" href="#coins" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
    <p>A fresh wallet starts empty. To fill it, you claim from a <strong>faucet</strong>, a free service that hands out testnet coins so people have something to practice with.</p>
    <p>In your wallet, copy your <strong>receive address</strong>. Then open <a class="ext" href="https://cypherfaucet.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CypherFaucet</a> (cypherfaucet.com), pick the coin you want, paste your address, and request coins.</p>
    <p>The coins do not arrive instantly. The faucet sends a transaction, and you wait for the network to pick it up. Give it a few minutes and your wallet balance will appear. Full details are in the <a href="/faucet">faucet guide</a>.</p>

    <h2 id="send">3. Send a transaction <a class="anchor" tabindex="-1" href="#send" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
    <p>Now spend some of it. You need somewhere to send to. Two easy options:</p>
    <ul>
      <li>Create a <strong>second address</strong> in your own wallet and send to yourself.</li>
      <li>Or send to a friend who also has a testnet address.</li>
    </ul>
    <p>In TestnetWallet, choose <strong>Send</strong>, paste the destination address, and enter an amount. You will also pick a <strong>fee</strong>, a small extra amount that pays a miner to include your transaction. On testnet a low fee is fine. If you are unsure what to pick, read <a href="/fees">how fees work</a>.</p>
    <p>Press send to <strong>broadcast</strong> the transaction to the network. The wallet will show you a <strong>txid</strong> (transaction id), a long string that uniquely names your transaction. Copy it. You will need it in the next step.</p>
    <div class="callout tip">
      <p class="co-title">Bonus: swap across chains</p>
      <p>TestnetWallet can also do atomic <a href="/swaps">swaps</a> between chains right inside the wallet, so you can trade testnet BTC for testnet LTC or XMR without a third party holding your coins. Try it once you are comfortable with a plain send.</p>
    </div>

    <h2 id="watch">4. Watch it confirm <a class="anchor" tabindex="-1" href="#watch" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
    <p>Open <a class="ext" href="https://testnetscan.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TestnetScan</a> (testnetscan.com) and paste your <strong>txid</strong> into the search box. You will see your transaction, first as <em>unconfirmed</em>, then with a confirmation count that climbs as new blocks are mined on top of it.</p>
    <p>Each new block adds one <strong>confirmation</strong>. The first one means your transaction made it into a block and is now part of the chain. Testnet timing is bumpy, so confirmations may arrive in a burst or stall for a bit. Learn to read what you are seeing in the <a href="/explorer">explorer guide</a> and <a href="/confirmations">how confirmations work</a>.</p>

    <h2 id="recap">What just happened <a class="anchor" tabindex="-1" href="#recap" aria-hidden="true">#</a></h2>
    <p>You just did the whole thing end to end. Here is how the pieces fit together:</p>
    <ul>
      <li>Your <strong>wallet held your keys</strong>, and those keys are what let you spend. That is all a wallet really is. See <a href="/keys-and-seeds">keys, seeds, and backups</a>.</li>
      <li>When you sent coins, you <strong>spent unspent outputs and got change back</strong>, the way physical cash works when you hand over a bill and get change. See <a href="/utxos">how UTXOs work</a>.</li>
      <li>The <strong>fee paid a miner</strong> to include your transaction in a block. See <a href="/fees">how fees work</a>.</li>
      <li>Each <strong>new block added a confirmation</strong>, making your transaction harder to undo. See <a href="/confirmations">how confirmations work</a>.</li>
    </ul>
    <p>From here you can dig into any of those ideas, explore the <a href="/bitcoin">Bitcoin</a>, <a href="/litecoin">Litecoin</a>, and <a href="/monero">Monero</a> testnets, or browse all the <a href="/guides">guides</a> to keep going.</p>
  </div></div>

  <div class="warnbox">
    <span class="wb-ico" aria-hidden="true">&#9888;&#65039;</span>
    <div class="wb-body">
      <h3>Testnet coins are fake money</h3>
      <ul>
        <li>They have no market value, so never buy or sell them.</li>
        <li>Never use a real seed phrase or import a real wallet on testnet.</li>
        <li>Never send mainnet BTC, LTC, or XMR to a testnet address.</li>
      </ul>
    </div>
  </div>

  <div class="pagenav">
    <a href="/guides"><div class="pn-dir">&larr; Back</div><div class="pn-t">All guides</div></a>
    <a class="pn-next" href="/keys-and-seeds"><div class="pn-dir">Next &rarr;</div><div class="pn-t">Keys, seeds, and backups</div></a>
  </div>

</main>

  <footer>
    <div class="foot-inner">
      <a class="ext" href="https://cypherfaucet.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Faucet</a>
      <a class="ext" href="https://testnetpool.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pool</a>
      <a class="ext" href="https://testnetwallet.net" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wallet</a>
      <a class="ext" href="https://testnetscan.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Explorer</a>
      <a class="ext" href="https://testnetswap.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Swap</a>
      <a href="/guides">Guides</a>
      <a href="/status">Status</a>
      <a href="/donate">Donate</a>
      <span class="faint">&middot;</span>
      <span>Part of the <a class="ext" href="https://tech1k.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tech1k</a> testnet ecosystem</span>
      <span class="faint">&middot;</span>
      <a class="ext" href="https://github.com/Tech1k/testnethub.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source</a>
      <a class="ext" href="https://github.com/Tech1k/testnethub.com/blob/HEAD/LICENSE" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Code AGPL-3.0</a>
      <a class="ext" href="https://github.com/Tech1k/testnethub.com/blob/HEAD/LICENSE-CONTENT" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Content CC-BY-SA-4.0</a>
      <span class="faint">&middot; testnet only &middot; coins have no value</span>
    </div>
  </footer>

</body>
</html>