3 Things to Know about Bitcoin Confirmations [2024] (2024)

Key Takeaways

In Bitcoin, a confirmation means a transaction has been added to a block.
Confirmations happen approximately every 10 minutes.
Once added to a block, a transaction is considered settled.

Confirmations Explained

Roughly every ten minutes, a new Bitcoin block is created and added to the blockchain through mining.

This block verifies and records any new transactions. The transactions are then said to have been confirmed by the Bitcoin network.

Table Of Contents

For example, if Sean buys bitcoin and then sends one bitcoin to John, this transaction will remain “unconfirmed” until the next block is created.

Once that block is created and the new transaction is verified and included in that block, the transaction will have one confirmation. Approximately every ten minutes thereafter, a new block is created and the transaction is reconfirmed by the Bitcoin network.

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A transaction that has been included in thousands of blocks (and therefore confirmed thousands of times)

While some services are instant or only require 1 confirmation, many Bitcoin companies will require more as each confirmation greatly decreases the likelihood of a payment being reversed. It is common for 6 confirmations to be required which takes about an hour.

Knowing how many confirmations are required by the service provider can give you a good idea of how long it will take for your transaction to be finished.

How many Bitcoin Confirmations are Enough?

Payments with 0 confirmations can still be reversed! Wait for at least one.

One confirmation is enough for small Bitcoin payments less than $1,000.

Enough for payments $1,000 - $10,000. Most exchanges require 3 confirmations for deposits.

How to Check Bitcoin Confirmations

Once you make a transaction, your wallet should give you an option to view the transaction on a block explorer or give you the transaction ID.

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blockstream.info is one of the most useful block explorers on the internet.

A transaction ID looks like this:

7a43510802e113b7059851ef0a8a5c3625db37541861dd982f56253b2d5c4ff9

To check the number of blockchain confirmations for a transaction, paste the ID into a block explorer like blockchain.info:

Press enter and then you’ll see more details about your transaction:

What is the Average Bitcoin Confirmation Time?

The chart below shows the average amount of time it takes miners to find a block - one block found means one confirmation.

While the Bitcoin blockchain targets 10-minute blocks, sometimes they are faster and sometimes they are slower.

This is especially true when a major change in the network hash rate occurs, as it did in June 2021, when all of China’s miners shut down due to a government ban.

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By the first of July 2021 the total hash rate fell by more than 55%. The hash rate has since recovered to above the previous peak in May of 2021.

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So, we see that issues can arise that alter confirmation times, but eventually they recover back to the 10-minute block time average.

FAQ

Is your Bitcoin Transaction Unconfirmed for Hours?

If your transaction is unconfirmed for hours, just wait. If more than 72 hours pass and your transaction still isn't confirmed, you can re-send the transaction.

We recommend using >Electrum Bitcoin wallet with a hardware wallet since it allows you to raise the fee on transactions if they get stuck.

How Many Confirmations Does Coinbase Need?

Coinbase requires three confirmations before a transaction will show up and be spendable in your Coinbase account.

Is it possible for a transaction to confirm in less than 10 minutes?

Yes! There are several ways this could happen.

As mentioned above, block times are targeted to be 10 minutes. However, sometimes they are more and sometimes they are less.

Difficulty Improperly Adjusted

If the difficulty is set too low, then block times will tend to be shorter than 10 minutes. Difficulty is adjusted every 2 weeks, but the way it is adjusted is based on the previous two weeks average block times. This generally does a good job of ensuring 10 minute blocks, but it is not perfect.

Hashing Power Flood

If a lot of mining hashing power is suddenly added to the network quickly, then this hashing power wont be accounted for until the next difficulty adjustment, resulting in faster block times on average.

Miner Luck

Sometimes blocks are found in minutes simply because of luck. The truth is, mining bitcoin is about guessing the answers to complex math problems. Guessing the answer should, statistically speaking, take about 10 minutes. However, sometimes you get lucky and find it much sooner.

Your Luck

Assuming 10 minute block timers are perfectly calibrated, and none of the above occurs, you could still get your first confirmation in less than 10 minutes. Let's say a block is found and five minutes later you broadcast a transaction with a higher fee than anyone else on the network. If that were the case, you would get your first confirmation in 5 minutes.

How can I speed up confirmation times?

There is no way for you to speed up the rate at which blocks are added to the blockchain. However, you can speed up the likelihood your transaction is included in the next block by increasing the fees you pay for the transaction, which makes it of higher interest to miners.

You can find what is considered a high fee at any given time by looking at our fee calculator. Be sure to calculate taxes for free properly.

Does Segwit decrease confirmation times?

Technically, no. SegWit does not change the amount of time needed for blocks to confirm. However, transactions using SegWit are cheaper because they are smaller. That means the fees you would pay for an old bitcoin transaction sending the same amount of coins is higher than it would be with Segwit. You can, therefore, put the money you save into paying more fees to increase the chance the transaction ends up in the next block.

However, no amount of fees can get your transaction through faster than the next block. And the time it takes for the next block to be found varies depending on current hashing power, difficulty and new investors coming in.

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Segwit won't decrease confirmation times, but it will save money on fees.

My transaction is stuck. How do I get it onto a block?

There are a few ways to fix a stuck transaction. One way is to do a replace by fee (RBF) transaction. The other is to do a child-pays-for-parent (CPFP) transaction. You can also use a bitcoin accelerator service, but accelerators are very expensive (and also not based in the US, UK or Canada. Better, cheaper options are available.

If you own a Ledger hardware wallet and you are using Ledger Live (supports altcoins too), you can prepare your transaction so that replace by fee is possible. Just tick the switch in the advanced options on the second screen (amount) when you make your transaction:

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Coin Control in Ledger Live

FAQs

3 Things to Know about Bitcoin Confirmations [2024]? ›

Each block is mined at a different rate, depending on the blockchain. For example, on the Bitcoin blockchain, a block is mined on average every 10 minutes, and Nexo only credits Bitcoin top-ups to a client's account after a minimum of 3 confirmations, which takes approximately 30 minutes.

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How long does it take for 3 confirmations of Bitcoin? ›

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What is 3 blockchain confirmation? ›

A confirmation is considered to have occurred once a miner has verified a block of transactions and added the new block to the blockchain. On average, cryptocurrency exchanges require a minimum of three confirmations until a transaction is accepted.

How to check Bitcoin confirmations? ›

Here's how to check the Bitcoin transaction status:

Go to https://live.blockcypher.com/ or https://www.blockchain.com/explorer and type or paste the transaction ID into the search field. You can see how many confirmations your transaction has.

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What is the 6 confirmation rule of thumb? ›

The 6 block confirmation rule of thumb to achieve 99.99% assurance a double spend can't happen (and assumes a 10% hashrate attacker) now requires 60 confirmations to achieve the same level of confidence.

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How many Bitcoin confirmations are safe? ›

Different cryptocurrencies require different numbers of confirmations before a transaction is considered final. For example, a Bitcoin transaction is often considered secure after six confirmations, while Ethereum transactions are usually considered secure after around 30 confirmations.

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What is the longest BTC confirmation time? ›

The record for the longest time a bitcoin transaction has remained unconfirmed is around 14 days. However, it's important to note that this is an extreme case, and most bitcoin transactions get confirmed withing minutes or hours.

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What are the three main blockchain protocols? ›

What are blockchain protocols?

Hyperledger fabric. Hyperledger Fabric is an open-source project with a suite of tools and libraries. ...
Ethereum. Ethereum is a decentralized open-source blockchain platform that people can use to build public blockchain applications. ...
Corda. ...
Quorum.

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What are the three key principles of a blockchain? ›

The key blockchain design principles are transparency, security, and decentralization. Transparency is a critical aspect of network security. It ensures users have complete transparency into all activities on the network, assuring them a degree of trustworthiness.

What is the 3 day hold on blockchain? ›

Thus, if you'd like to withdraw your funds to a DeFi Wallet or an external address, please wait 3 days (72 hours) for the holding period to complete before doing so. The holding period is designed to protect you from fraud if your debit/ credit card was lost or stolen.

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How to accelerate BTC confirmation? ›

Currently, the ability to accelerate a BTC transaction is available in Mobile and Desktop.

Open your Bitcoin wallet and tap on the transaction that is stuck pending.
a) You'll see the amount of BTC needed to accelerate your transaction. To proceed, b) tap Accelerate.
To confirm, tap Accelerate.

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How long can Bitcoin take to confirm? ›

Bitcoin transactions will usually get 1 confirmation within 10 minutes. If you sent too low of a fee, it could be longer than 10 minutes. If several hours have passed without your Bitcoin transaction being confirmed, just wait. If more than 72 hours have gone by without confirmation, resend your transaction.

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How do I track an unconfirmed Bitcoin transaction? ›

You can check the status of your transaction on any blockchain explorer by looking up the transaction ID, sending address, or receiving address.

Get More Info Here ›

What is the golden rule of thumb? ›

The most familiar version of the Golden Rule says, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Moral philosophy has barely taken notice of the golden rule in its own terms despite the rule's prominence in commonsense ethics.

What is the 5X rule of thumb? ›

I call this the 5X rule. Successful, growing businesses make 5 times what they spend on marketing, advertising, sales or any other growth channel. To help explain why this rule is such a good predictor of business success, let's run through a quick hypothetical scenario.

What is a good rule of thumb? ›

A rule of thumb is a guideline, idea, or principle that helps you make decisions. "Arrive early" is a good rule of thumb for most appointments. This term originally referred to builders who used their thumb to estimate measurements. The meaning broadened to mean any inexact but helpful rule.

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Why are BTC confirmations taking so long? ›

Network Congestion

The level of activity on the Bitcoin network significantly impacts transaction times. During periods of high congestion, when many users send transactions, the Bitcoin mempool — where transactions wait before being confirmed — can become crowded.

Can a bitcoin transaction take 24 hours? ›

Bitcoin's transaction times can vary greatly, ranging anywhere from ten minutes to one day. However, it will usually take between thirty minutes and two hours to complete the process. It is worth keeping in mind that the average transaction time tends to be around one hour.

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How long does 2 blockchain confirmations take? ›

In Bitcoin, a confirmation means a transaction has been added to a block. Confirmations happen approximately every 10 minutes. Once added to a block, a transaction is considered settled.

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How long will my BTC transaction take? ›

In general, Bitcoin transactions usually take from one to one and half hours to complete. On occasion, a high volume of transactions taking place on the Blockchain could lead to transaction delays.

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