There are various ways that you can use to send Bitcoin to another user or a business. Today, we’re focusing on just one – sending Bitcoin using a money transfer app. We will mainly focus on the transaction time. We understand that you may want to transfer Bitcoins quickly because of an urgent business or issue, but there are standard protocols and durations that you have to wait for.
Many factors affect the duration every transaction takes. Generally, you can expect the transfer to last anywhere between a few seconds to several days. The average time to send Bitcoin based on experts’ advice is between 10 and 20 minutes. Anything shorter than this duration is an advantage and later is a delay.
The reason Bitcoin transactions take a while is that they must go through a standard verification procedure. It’s not like sending money typically using a money transfer app. Therefore, often miners have to calculate complex equations when trying to add a block on the blockchain for the transaction. That is why most transfers involving fiat currency on a money transfer app are faster compared to Bitcoin transactions.
When there’s an increase in the number of transactions taking place, the process becomes even slower. And then it will all depend on who has paid higher transaction fees, as they’ll get preferential treatment.
Factors Affecting the Transfer Duration of Bitcoin
From the information we’ve just shared with you up there, it is evident that there’s no exact time that a Bitcoin transaction will take. So, what really determines whether you transfer your Bitcoin proceeds instantly or after several days? Here are some of the factors to consider:
Total Network Activity
How many Bitcoin transactions are in line at that particular time? In case there’s a high number of transactions at a particular time, then it means that the total network activity will also be high.
Even though there has been a growing number of miners joining the mining division, the numbers are still insufficient. Therefore, when the workload is too high, then it definitely will take them a longer time to confirm all of the transactions.
Bitcoin has been on the rise over the past few years. And right now, there are numerous investors and traders using this cryptocurrency. This is definitely a reason why the network activity has risen too.
Often, the block lengths become insufficient due to the huge load of transactions. And that is why they are added to a big waiting line that’s known as a Bitcoin mempool. Depending on the duration of the delay, the size of the mempool will vary. The preference and transaction fees will also determine the size of the mempool.
Transaction Fees
As hinted earlier, the transaction fee will affect the speed of transactions, especially when there’s high network activity. Since the process of mining Bitcoins needs a lot of time, power, action, and technology, most miners won’t process your transaction in time if you don’t pay sufficiently ‘good’ fees.
Therefore, one of the main reasons that transactions are delayed is because of the low Bitcoin transfer fees. The transaction fees are indicated using satoshis as a value per byte. Of course, there are several advancements in the Bitcoin network currently ongoing and they will likely help to solve such problems. For instance, the development of the Lightning Network is set to make Bitcoin transactions happen instantly rather than waiting for several minutes or even days.
The Money Transfer App that You Use
The money transfer app that you’re using to send Bitcoin will also affect the speed of the transaction. Some money transfer app resources are faster when compared to others. That is why you should check their websites for more information on the speeds of transactions. Well, aside from the security of the app itself. Afriex money transfer app is great in terms of shorter transactional times and safety when sending them.
Bitcoin Transaction Confirmations
After the miner has verified the block that comprises your Bitcoin transaction, your transfer becomes valid. And this means that the funds finally hit your account. Therefore, the basic logic to get these confirmations faster is to pay a little more in transaction fees.
The number of confirmations needed will depend on the amount that you’re transferring. For small amounts, you will only need one confirmation. However, when you are moving large quantities of cryptocurrency, then you might even have to wait for more than fifty confirmations. And this means more time for every confirmation.
If you’re really in a hurry to transfer funds, then it would be best to split them into smaller portions for faster confirmations.
Final Thoughts
In summary, that’s how long it takes to transfer Bitcoin using a money transfer app. We hope that you’ve also seen the factors that may affect every transaction.