Locked vs Unlocked Balance

You just received Monero, the wallet clearly shows it arrived — and yet when you try to send some onward, it says you have less than you expected, or nothing available at all. This is not a bug, and nothing is wrong with your funds. You are seeing the difference between your total balance and your unlocked balance. Once you understand this distinction, a whole category of "why can't I spend?" confusion disappears. This lesson explains it plainly.

Two Numbers, Not One

Most Monero wallets show two figures:

• Balance (or total balance) — everything the wallet has received, including funds that are not yet spendable.
• Unlocked balance — the portion you can actually spend right now.

When these two numbers differ, it simply means some of your funds are still in a short waiting period. Give it a little time and the unlocked balance catches up to the total.

The 10-Block Unlock

Every output you receive in Monero is locked for 10 confirmations before it becomes spendable. Since blocks arrive roughly every two minutes, that is about 20 minutes after the transaction is first confirmed. During this window, the funds are genuinely yours and safely on-chain — they just cannot be used as an input to a new transaction yet. This lock is a normal part of how the protocol keeps the ledger consistent, and it applies to essentially everyone. For the broader picture, see Block Confirmations and Locks.

Why You "Can't Spend" Right After Receiving

Say a friend sends you 1 XMR. Within a couple of minutes it confirms and your total balance rises by 1. But if you immediately try to forward it, the wallet may report no unlocked funds available. Nothing is broken — the output is simply within its 10-block lock. Wait for those confirmations to accumulate and the amount moves from locked to unlocked, ready to spend. If you are watching a transaction go through this process, Checking Your Transactions shows how to read the confirmation count.

Change Outputs: The Sneaky Cause

Here is a subtlety that surprises many people. When you spend Monero, your wallet usually consumes a whole output and sends the leftover back to yourself as a change output. That change is a newly received output — so it, too, is locked for 10 blocks. The practical effect: right after sending a payment, part of your balance can briefly appear locked because it is change working through its own unlock period. Wait about 20 minutes and it returns to spendable. This is why sending two payments in quick succession sometimes stalls on the second one.

Coinbase (Mined) Outputs Lock Longer

If you mine Monero, or receive a coinbase output (a newly minted mining reward), it is locked for much longer than ordinary funds — 60 blocks, roughly two hours, rather than 10. This is a deliberate rule for freshly created coins. So if you are mining and wondering why your reward is not spendable yet, the longer coinbase lock is the reason. Regular payments you receive from other people are not coinbase outputs and use the normal 10-block lock.

This Is Not the Same as "Pending"

It helps to separate two ideas that both involve waiting:

• Pending / unconfirmed — the transaction has not yet been written into a block at all.
• Locked — the transaction is confirmed, but the received output has not yet reached its unlock threshold.

Both resolve with time and neither means your money is at risk. If your concern is a transaction that has not confirmed yet, see My Transaction Is Pending or Stuck.

What To Do

1. Check both numbers. Compare total balance with unlocked balance.
2. Note how recently funds arrived. Under 20 minutes almost always explains a locked amount.
3. Wait for 10 confirmations (60 for mined coinbase) and the funds unlock automatically.
4. Remember change. After sending, expect part of your balance to relock briefly.

The locked-versus-unlocked distinction is one of those things that feels mysterious for a day and obvious forever after. With it understood, you are well equipped to handle the rare situation that genuinely does need care — sending to the wrong place — which we cover next in I Sent to the Wrong Address or Amount.