BTC transactions on the Internet are not instantaneous. Ideally, any actions with cryptocurrencies should take a minimum of time. In practice, it takes from 5 minutes to 5-6 hours to process them, sometimes more.
It is worth finding out the reasons why you have to wait a long time to confirm a bitcoin transaction and find out if you can speed up BTC transfers.
The principle of confirmations in the network
Blockchain technology is arranged in such a way that when sending coins from one user to another, you need confirmation for a Bitcoin transaction. Only after verifying the format, signature and combining the transaction into a group of other records, a new block is created. In this case, all the links are assembled into a single structure, which contains digital information about all the actions performed.
To send bitcoins to the addressee, it is required to:
- Create an order.
- Enter the address of the recipient.
- Specify the amount of coins to be sent.
- Select the network commission (as a rule, wallets offer several options for the user to choose from).
- Confirm sending.
The commission is a fee to miners for processing the transaction. The speed of confirmation depends on its value. If necessary, the sender can enter the size of the commission himself.
Each transfer has a hash – a link that acts as digital evidence of sending cryptocurrency.
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With its help, you can track the status. If the transaction has not yet received confirmations, it means that the miners have not yet engaged in its processing. In fact, the funds still continue to remain at the sender’s address. At the same time, the queue in the mempool (list of unconfirmed actions) may change – other requests with higher fees are likely to appear before the previously made request.
The algorithm works for normal transactions between users and for exchanges and withdrawals of BTC to a card.
How many confirmations are needed for a Bitcoin transaction
A new block in the network is created approximately every 10 minutes, being added to the chain during the mining process. During it, new transactions are verified and recorded. Sending from one wallet to another requires at least 2 confirmations for the transfer to receive the status of established. Their number depends on the settings of developers or owners. Usually, 6 notifications of a successful transaction are required to fully complete a bitcoin transfer.
How long it takes for transactions to be confirmed
The speed depends on the busyness of the network. The higher the demand for bitcoin, the more transactions involving bitcoin take place. The number of unconfirmed transactions also increases, which leads to a decrease in speed.
In addition, the following factors affect the time of transactions:
- Commission of miners. The higher it is, the higher the priority of a particular transaction in the chain. When miners can choose, they prioritize the transaction whose commission is higher.
- The processing services used by senders and receivers. If both participants in a transaction are working within the same system, the speed will be higher.
- Personal settings of the initiator. The user can speed up the process by selecting a high commission rate.
- Volatility of the BTC rate. If there is a sharp increase or decrease in the value of cryptocurrency, traders make more transactions, which inevitably leads to an increase in processing time.
In the case of most cryptocurrency payment apps and outlets, you have to wait about an hour for the transaction to be finally confirmed. During this time, 6 new blockchain elements are created, which is a full and complete confirmation for a BTC transaction. In practice, such speed can not always be counted on: during network congestion, the real waiting time is 5-6 hours.
Status monitoring
To check the status of a transaction, you need to find the identification number (ID) of the transfer. It is stored in the user’s history and consists of a combination of numbers and letters of the Latin alphabet.
Next, the user copies the code or enters it into the search field on the blockchain service’s website. It is possible to see how many confirmations the transaction has received. When sending between wallets within a single service, two will be enough to complete the transaction.
The most recently mined blocks:
| Height | Mined | Miner | Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| 693210 | 9 minutes | AntPool | 312,905 bytes |
| 693209 | 13 minutes | F2Pool | 1,308,448 bytes |
| 693208 | 25 minutes | Unknown | 1 391 293 bytes |
| 693207 | 35 minutes | Unknown | 1 275 289 bytes |
| 693206 | 48 minutes | AntPool | 826,711 bytes |
| 693205 | 55 minutes | AntPool | 1 250 895 bytes |
If a user is waiting for a transfer and sees the message “Transaction not found”, it is worth contacting the provider or sender.
Reasons for delays
According to experts, the main reason for slow transfers is too low commission. Most wallets have a “recommended fee” option, it is set by default. However, the user has the right to reduce or increase this indicator.
There is a more serious reason affecting the speed – the limited scalability of BTC. The network simply cannot cope with the load, as there are often more transfer requests than miners can handle. As a result, instead of the predicted 10-60 minutes, a transaction takes several hours, and sometimes the process takes more than a day.
Ways to speed up Bitcoin (BTC) transfers
The initiator of the transfer has the right to reduce the number of checks. This risk is acceptable if a small amount of virtual currency is transferred. If the check is not successful, the money will return to the sending party’s vault.
If the transaction “hangs” and the funds are needed urgently, some wallets offer an acceleration option. The sending party increases the fee of the unprocessed payment at the expense of its own free funds on the balance.
Other actions:
- Check the internet connection.
- Verify that the recipient’s address is correct.
- Find out if there are any technical problems on the part of the service by viewing the corresponding information messages.
- Clarify how many confirmations are required.
- Update the wallet if transactions are constantly delayed.
If you have accounts in BlueWallet, Electrum Bitcoin Wallet or Bitcoin Core, you should use the Replace-by-Fee feature to speed up transfers.
The table shows an example of the priority dependencies that determine whether a transaction is included in a block.
| Priority | Fee, in BTC (as of the end of July 2021) | Prediction of a payment hitting the confirmation interval from 0 to 20 minutes |
|---|---|---|
| Low | 0,0003438 | 10% |
| Standard | 0,000405 | 50% |
| Average | 0,00108 | 55% |
| High | 0,0018 | 90% |
Frequently Asked Questions
⛔ Can I cancel sending bitcoin?
All cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible – it is not possible to cancel the initiated sending of funds.
❓ Why confirm the transaction?
As long as the transaction is not included in the blockchain, the system believes that the number of BTC at a particular address remains unchanged. Once the transaction is included in the blockchain, it becomes irreversible. Thus, confirmation is necessary to further shape the blockchain.
⏳ What to do if BTCs are taking too long to flow?
Check the status on Blockchain Info and wait. Nothing is lost in the blockchain – the coins will either return to your wallet or reach the recipient.
❔ What should I do if the wrong address is entered?
If another valid address is entered instead of the correct one, the funds will be transferred anyway. If you don’t know the owner of the wallet, you won’t be able to get your money back.
💰 Is it worth saving on commission?
It all depends on the amount being sent and the time the parties to the transaction have. If the transaction is urgent, it is better to overpay the miners and speed up the process.
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Author: Saifedean Ammous, an expert in cryptocurrency economics.
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