A failed trade at the wrong moment is the most expensive kind of failure. This page is the decision tree — symptom → cause → fix.
First, the good news: a failed/reverted trade did not spend your funds (beyond a minimal network fee, chain-dependent). Your balance is intact; the trade just didn’t happen.
”Slippage exceeded” / trade reverted
Cause: price moved past your slippage cap between quote and execution. The #1 failure on volatile tokens — and it’s the protection working, refusing a fill worse than you authorized.
Fix:
- Retry — on choppy pools the next attempt often lands.
- Raise slippage in Transaction Settings consciously (20–30% is realistic in the trenches).
- Reduce size — your own order might be the price impact.
- Honest check: if it keeps outrunning 30% slippage, you’re chasing. See the FOMO test.
Transaction timed out / never confirmed
Cause: network congestion — your transaction didn’t get processed in time. Common during major launches and meta frenzies.
Fix:
- Check the transaction status in your history before retrying — don’t double-buy.
- Raise the priority fee and retry.
- If MEV protection is on, private routing can add a beat during congestion — for tiny fast punts consider whether you need it; for size, keep it on and accept the beat.
”Insufficient balance” (but I have money)
Causes & fixes:
- Balance on the other chain — buys draw from the USDC balance of the token’s chain. Bridge USDC over first: USDC Balance & Bridge.
- Gas reserve — you need a sliver of the native token for network fees.
- Open limit orders reserving balance — check the Orders tab.
“Can’t sell” a token
Causes, in order of likelihood:
- Honeypot — the token was designed unsellable. Check the Security Audit strip and sell tax on the token page. If sell tax is 99%, the exit was never real. This money is a tuition payment — convert it to a rule.
- Liquidity gone — the pool was drained (rug). Nothing to sell into.
- Slippage too tight for a collapsing price — if the token is real but dumping, raise slippage and accept the hit; a bad exit beats no exit in a rug.
Limit order didn’t fire
Causes:
- Price gapped through your trigger too fast for on-chain execution (violent dumps) — the order fired but filled at the next executable price, or reverted on slippage.
- Order was already cancelled/expired.
Check the order’s status in the Orders tab for the specific reason.
Still stuck?
Grab the transaction hash (click the trade in your history → copy hash) and hit Contact Support. The hash lets support see exactly what happened — “my trade failed” without a hash means a round-trip of questions first.
Frequently asked questions
Do I lose money when a trade fails on Trady?
No. A failed or reverted trade does not spend your funds beyond a minimal, chain-dependent network fee. Your balance stays intact — the trade simply did not happen.
Why does my trade keep failing with “slippage exceeded”?
The price moved past your slippage cap between the quote and execution. That is the protection working: it refuses a fill worse than you authorized. Retry, raise slippage consciously (20–30% is realistic in the trenches), or reduce size if your own order is the price impact.
Why does Trady say “insufficient balance” when I have funds?
Most often the balance sits on the other chain — buys draw from the USDC balance of the token’s chain. Bridge USDC across first. See USDC Balance & Bridge.
What do I do if I can’t sell a token?
Check three things in order: whether the token is a honeypot (security audit strip and sell tax on the token page), whether liquidity was drained, and whether your slippage is too tight for a collapsing price. In a rug, a bad exit beats no exit.
What should I send support about a failed trade?
The transaction hash, taken from your trade history. Without it, diagnosing a failure needs a round-trip of questions first. Last modified on August 4, 2026
