How many confirmations does a Bitcoin payment need?
Follow the recipient’s policy. The first block is one confirmation and each later block adds one; more confirmations reduce reversal risk.
The first block counts
A transaction has one confirmation when it enters a block in the current chain. Each block added after that increases its count by one. A transaction waiting outside a block has zero confirmations and is not final.
There is no fixed countdown
Bitcoin aims for an average of about ten minutes between blocks. Individual gaps can be much shorter or longer. Waiting for several confirmations therefore does not promise a particular finishing time, especially before the first block includes your payment.
How long does a Bitcoin transaction take?Check what the recipient requires
More confirmations reduce the risk of a chain reorganisation removing a payment. There is no universal threshold for every amount or situation. Follow the recipient’s policy. UTXOHub’s confirmation display is information about the network, not a promise that a service has accepted the deposit.
What is a chain reorganisation?Selling for bitcoin: when to shipConfirmed and credited are different
A wallet or exchange can apply its own confirmation threshold and account checks. If the address and amount match but the deposit is still missing, check that service’s status and deposit instructions. Contact it directly if its stated requirements have been met.
References
- Bitcoin Developer Guide, “Block Chain”.
- Bitcoin.org, “Frequently Asked Questions”.
- Bitcoin Developer Guide, “Payment Processing”.