This article focuses primarily on Fireblocks Vault account balances
If you want to learn more about other account balances, visit the following articles:
Viewing account balances
There are several ways to view the various balances in your workspace.
Accounts page
The Accounts page displays the total amount of assets held across all Vault accounts, connected accounts, and fiat accounts, along with their current USD rate. At the top of the page is the total across all account types, with the individual account type totals under it.
To view how an account type's total balance is distributed, select to open the balance chart.
To view how the assets in a specific account are distributed, first select the account to open it, then select to open the balance chart.
You can also search for a specific account if necessary, and sort the accounts according to their balance (high to low, low to high).
Assets page
The Assets page displays a list of all the assets held in your Vault accounts. This list shows the asset's name, the quantity of the asset, the asset's current USD value (relevant to the amount you hold), and the number of accounts in your workspace that have a wallet for that asset. You can also search for a specific asset if necessary.
Select an asset to view additional details about it, including a list of the Vault accounts in your workspace that have a wallet for that asset. You can also search for a specific account if necessary.
Account balance types
Fireblocks provides multiple balance fields to represent different states of assets within Vault accounts. Understanding these balance types is crucial for accurate treasury management and transaction planning.
Total
The total balance of assets in your account as recorded on the blockchain.
Use Cases
- Overall asset position reporting
- Net worth calculations
Important notes about Total balances
- Represents the confirmed balance as reported by the blockchain. Unconfirmed incoming transactions are excluded from the total.
- Highest-level balance view
- Does not equal the spendable balance when you have transactions in progress
- For UTXO: Total doesn’t include mempool outgoing transactions (confirmation 0)
Available
Assets that are immediately available for new transactions. This is the spendable balance.
Formula
Available balance = Total balance - Pending - Frozen - Locked - Staked - Reserved
Use cases
- Check if sufficient funds exist for withdrawal
- Real-time transaction validation
Important notes about Available balances
- Most critical balance for operational purposes
- The only balance type that can be used for new outgoing transactions
- For account-based blockchains: Determine the maximum transaction gross amount
- For UXTO: There is an inputs limitation not related to the available amount
Pending
The cumulative balance of all in-flight incoming transactions that are being confirmed. Includes:
- EVM chains: Incoming transactions with 1 block confirmation or above, pending completion based on the configured confirmation policy
- UTXO chains (Bitcoin, etc.): Incoming transactions with 0 confirmations or above, pending completion based on the configured confirmation policy
- Transactions in one of the following statuses:
CONFIRMING,PENDING_AML_SCREENING, orFAILED/FAILED_AML_SCREENING
Use cases
- Track in-flight transactions
- Understanding temporary balance fluctuations
Important notes about Pending balances
- Pending balances are included in the Total balance, but are deducted when calculating the Available balance
- For EVM blockchains: Mempool transactions with 0 confirmations are not included as Pending funds
- Clears once the transaction reaches the required confirmations and is moved to the
COMPLETEDstatus
Frozen
Funds of transactions that have been frozen automatically upon AML screening or manually via API.
Reasons for Freezing
- AML/KYC screening flagged the transaction
- Manual freeze by a customer
Use cases
- Compliance monitoring
- Risk management
- Regulatory reporting
Important notes about Frozen balances
- Cannot be used for transactions until unfrozen
- Requires manual intervention to release
- Reduces available balance
Locked
Assets locked by Fireblocks as the funds are in a withdrawal process (outgoing transactions only). Includes outgoing transactions until they are broadcast or mined on the blockchain. The exact release point depends on the blockchain protocol implementation on Fireblocks.
Use cases
- Track outgoing traffic from any Fireblocks vault
Important notes about Locked balances
- For account-based: The transaction’s funds are locked until the transaction is mined
- For UTXO: The funds are locked until the transaction reaches the mempool.
Staked
Legacy field representing assets staked using Raw Signing-based SDKs.
Historical context
- Introduced before Fireblocks' native staking product existed
- Used for manual staking operations via raw signing
- Primarily applicable to DOT and KSM chains
Important notes about Staked balances
- This is a legacy field and is not used for current native staking operations
- For current staking operations, use the Fireblocks Native Staking APIs instead
- New staking positions should use the native staking product
Reserved
The minimum balance required by certain blockchains to keep an account active on their network. This amount cannot be spent or transferred.
Use cases
- Calculate the actual spendable balance on reserve-based chains
Important notes about Reserved balances
- Reserved funds are NOT lost - they're locked by the blockchain protocol, not Fireblocks
- Required to prevent network spam and maintain blockchain efficiency
- Not included in the Available balance calculations
- Examples for blockchains with a Reserved amount: XRP, Stellar, Polkadot
- Reserve amounts can change via blockchain governance/voting
Balance relationship example
Example: Standard Vault Account
{
"id": "ETH",
"total": "10.5",
"balance": "10.5",
"available": "9.0",
"pending": "0.5",
"frozen": "0.5",
"lockedAmount": "0.5",
"staked": "0"
}Breakdown:
- Total/Balance: 10.5 ETH owned
- Available: 9.0 ETH can be spent immediately
- Pending: 0.5 ETH in incoming incompleted transactions
- Frozen: 0.5 ETH frozen by AML policy
- LockedAmount: 0.5 ETH locked (e.g., outflight transaction)
Validation:
Total (10.5) = Available (9.0) + Pending (0.5) + Frozen (0.5) + LockedAmount (0.5)
Balance update timing
Fireblocks uses an eventually consistent balance system. While transactions are processing, balances may temporarily be inaccurate. This can include negative available balances, even from a single transaction. These inconsistencies normally resolve automatically once all transactions reach their final confirmed state.
Manual updates
If you believe an asset's balance is not up-to-date, use the refresh balance API endpoint to refresh it manually:
POST /v1/vault/accounts/{vaultAccountId}/{assetId}/balance
Please note that this endpoint is rate-limited.
Summary table
| Balance type | Spendable? | Includes Pending? | Includes Frozen? | Includes Locked? | Includes Staked? | Use for |
| Total | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Overall position |
| Available | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | Transaction validation |
| Pending | ❌ | N/A | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | In-flight tracking |
| Frozen | ❌ | ❌ | N/A | ❌ | ❌ | Compliance holds |
| Locked | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | N/A | ❌ | Out-flight transactions |
| Staked | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | N/A | Staking positions |
Common questions
Why is my Available balance lower than the Total?
Your Available balance excludes funds that are:
- Pending incoming transactions
- Frozen by compliance
- Locked in outgoing transactions
- Reserved by blockchain protocol
- In legacy staking positions
Can I spend my Pending balance?
No. Pending funds are incoming transactions that haven't reached the required confirmations.
What happens to the Reserved balance if I try to spend it?
The transaction will fail. The reserved balance must remain in the account to keep it active on the blockchain.