Have you ever experienced a prolonged delay in wait time regarding your Bitcoin transaction? Have you ever felt like your Bitcoin transactions got stuck because you had to wait several hours for the arrival of Bitcoin in your wallet? Did you resort to asking yourself questions such as how long does a bitcoin transaction take?
It’s okay to feel bad when there’s a delay in wait time. We all have been down the road before. But have you ever tried to figure out what went wrong, and why the process gets delayed at times?
Key Takeaways
•The average confirmation time for payment of BTC on the Bitcoin network is 10 minutes. Nevertheless, the time may vary widely.
•Congestion in the mempool and low transaction fees can slow down the confirmation of your transaction.
SEE ALSO: How Long Does A Bitcoin Transaction Take Before Confirmation
SEE ALSO: How To Cancel An Unconfirmed Bitcoin Transaction
You’re not in this alone anyways. Quite a good number of people all over the world get worried, but never care to find out what goes on, and why it happens.
In this article, you will be walked through every step of the way to understand how long a Bitcoin transaction takes.
How Long Does A Bitcoin Transaction Take?
To say in just a few words, a Bitcoin transaction can take as fast as 1 minute to 1hr to get confirmed. However, it may take as slow as 24 hours in some cases. It all depends on certain factors.
It is of utmost importance to know what factors affect Bitcoin transactions. Once you understand these factors, you’ll know how to work your way around Bitcoin transactions.
Factors Affecting Bitcoin Transactions
There are two factors Affecting Bitcoin transactions. These are:
1. The Amount of Load on the Network (Bitcoin’s Network)
This, as the name implies, refers to the cumulative transactions that need to be processed per day on the Bitcoin blockchain.
The greater the number of registered transactions, the more time is needed to get each one of them processed. This is because there is a limited number of “hash power“. Consequently, only a limited number of transactions are processed in the 1 Mb block size of Bitcoin.
SEE ALSO: Bitcoin vs Ripple – What are the Differences and Flaws
2. Bitcoin Transaction Fee
When the issue of transaction time comes into play, the amount of money you are willing to pay goes a long way to influence how fast or slow the transaction is going to take.
It’s all a matter of priority!
The fee you pay determines which transaction gets attended to first in the 1Mb block. Miners generally place a high priority on transactions that come with higher fees.
Needless to say, if your transaction fee is very less in comparison, then there is a higher possibility of getting picked last.
For this reason, a lot of transactions get delayed.
SEE ALSO: 16 Countries where Bitcoin is Illegal to Trade or Mine
How about 10 minutes?
Yes, 10 minutes…you must have heard of it.
Besides the aforementioned factors, there is a speculated average time of about ten minutes, required for miners to successfully mine a valid block on the Bitcoin blockchain.
This only applies, when your transaction gains priority and is included in the block.
On the other hand, if your transaction does not gain priority, and is not included in the block, it remains unconfirmed and stays in the mempool.
Let’s say your transaction gets included in the block. Once mined, the first confirmation usually comes up in 10 minutes. Followed by 5 subsequent confirmations in the next 50 minutes.
Generally, it is recommended that after successful receipt of a minimum of 6 confirmations, then a Bitcoin transaction can be termed successful.
In this light, it is safe to say that Bitcoin transactions and transfers take up to a minimum of 60 minutes {i.e time per transaction (10min) x number of confirmations (6) } if your transaction is included in the very next block. If otherwise, you’ll experience an increased delay in wait time up to a day, two…or even more.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS)
1. How long does it take to receive Bitcoin on the blockchain?
On the Bitcoin network, the average confirmation time for a BTC payment is about 10 minutes. However, transaction times can vary wildly.
2. Can a Bitcoin transaction fail?
A Bitcoin transaction can fail to confirm or become “stuck,” for many reasons.
3. Can you send Bitcoin online?
Most definitely, yes.
4. Can you cancel unconfirmed Bitcoin transactions?
Yes. It is possible to cancel unconfirmed Bitcoin transactions.
SEE ALSO: How to Get Bitcoin Loans Without KYC
Final Thoughts
Prolonged delay in wait time shouldn’t be a big deal. Even though it is said that transactions can take about a day and more to get confirmed, there have been recorded cases of transactions getting confirmed in less than 60 minutes. It all boils down to the transaction fees and the load on the network.
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