It takes about 30-60 minutes for 3 Bitcoin confirmations. However, the real-time may vary based on the fee you set for your BTC transaction to include it in the blockchain.
How Many Confirmations for BTC Transactions Are Required?
13 Jul, 2023
7 minutes
How many confirmations for BTC transactions do you have to pass, when you want to exchange your crypto at the BlockChain?
The short answer for the title is one confirmation to rule them all. The more complex answer about how many confirmations for BTC transactions are necessary since it requires more data. Approximately 1 MB equals two thousand transactions, and each block generates in 10 minutes. The higher the fee, the faster the transaction will be confirmed in the Bitcoin blockchain. On average, a secure transaction requires about 6 confirmations (6 next Bitcoin blockchain generations). So, it takes about 60 minutes from when you send the money to approve the financial operation. If you're greedy and choose a low fee, your operation could be frozen. If all the previous information seems random, be prepared to receive concrete and correct information on how long you should wait to withdraw your money.
What are Bitcoin Confirmations?
If you need information on how many confirmations for BTC transactions you need, you might be operating your money in the blockchain for the first time. Let's briefly and simply describe how it works and what Bitcoin confirmations are. The Bitcoin blockchain is one big un-rewritable book. Each newly mined block is a page that contains your transactions. When you need to send money to another person, you go to a miner and ask them to write your transaction on the next page, for a fair fee. If the miner agrees, they put your request into the next block of the blockchain, and you receive your first confirmation of the Bitcoin transaction. The constructive blockchain is created as each next block contains information from all previous blocks. So, if the person on the other side of the network asks for more confirmations, all you have to do is wait for the estimated time for the next blocks to be mined on the blockchain.
On what does the Bitcoin confirmation time depend?
The BTC confirmation time depends only on two factors: the mining speed, which is near constant and equals 10 minutes for each block, and the BTC miner's fee that you set for your transaction. You can view the estimated point at ‘Bitcoinfees dot net’ or other sites that provide statistics about the commission for the next block. Alternatively, you can choose an option in your wallet like 'normal fee' or 'priority fee.'
Theory vs. practice – why six confirmations to be required?
Now you know that to send money to a person, you need just one confirmation, which you receive from a Bitcoin miner. However, you may cancel your BTC money operation in the next block, or the person can send the money back to you. That's why many operators use a delay to finally validate your BTC moves, to avoid tricksters, especially when validating big deals. Here's the most accurate and correct information:
- NO! You shouldn't send your money and pay the fee six times in a row.
- YES! You should wait until the six next blocks are mined.
That's all, but why exactly six? There are too many complex calculations involving 51% network power, theories, and other things that originate from the early Bitcoin era. But the simple answer is that it's simply how things are. So, if you're sending a large sum of money, you should be prepared for six confirmations to be required for the deal.
Extra information about operating BTC
Firstly, when you send a BTC transaction into the blockchain and it is confirmed, you'll receive a secured key that you can send to the person you sent the money to. This secured key is your real proof that you sent money, and it's enough. Without this key, you have no evidence that you sent any money to another wallet, so do not lose it. In very rare situations or during problems with blockchain scalability, your confirmation may be delayed.
Are there any ways to cut the six confirmations for Bitcoin?
There are some ways to reduce the time required for Bitcoin transaction confirmations. The first way is if you're the owner of a Bitcoin mining pool and can decide which transactions go into the next mined block. In this situation, you may put your request with the lowest fee into the BTC blockchain. But remember that you can't reduce the time for the first approval to less than 10 minutes. The second way is to operate your money within market exchanges. In market exchanges, your bitcoins are not physically moved, so you can reduce fees and time. The third way is to make a deal with the person you're sending money to and agree on fewer validations to finish the deal.
Conclusion
To summarize, you can't confirm a BTA transaction in less than 10 minutes. You only need the first confirmation to make a deal, and the speed of confirmation depends on the fee you set. If you don't receive any responses within the next 72 hours, you can cancel your operation. If you're interested in how to validate Bitcoin transactions, you can find instructions in your wallet. If you're transporting bitcoins from cold wallets, first transfer them into a hot wallet and then follow the GUI instructions on how to send a request into the BTC blockchain. Typically, to validate your deal, you should wait for the estimated time:
- For extra small BTC transactions <$1000 — 1 time (10-20 minutes)
- For Bitcoin operations from $1000 to $10,000 — 3 times (30-60 minutes)
- For BTC equivalent from $10,000 to $1,000,000 — 6 times (60 to 120 minutes)
- For individual deals for >$1,000,000 transactions.
Good luck, and remember — this is a fair delay for your anonymity!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, a Bitcoin transaction can take 24 hours in one of two situations: if you set a too-low fee or if the network is overloaded with Bitcoin transactions at that time.
It takes from 20 to 40 minutes for 2 Bitcoin confirmations.