# What is a Bitcoin confirmation?

A confirmation means your transaction is in a block, and each new block adds another. Learn how many you need, how long they take and why they matter.

Canonical page: https://mybitcoinexplorer.com/learn/bitcoin-confirmations
Topic: Transactions
Published: 2026-10-29
Updated: 2026-10-30


## From waiting to confirmed
- **0 confirmations (unconfirmed):** your transaction is in the [mempool](https://mybitcoinexplorer.com/learn/what-is-the-mempool), waiting.
- **1 confirmation:** it's in the latest block.
- **2, 3, 4…:** each new block built on top adds one more.

> Diagram: Each block mined on top adds one confirmation — 

## Why more is safer
To reverse a transaction with 6 confirmations, an attacker would have to secretly mine 6+ blocks faster than the whole honest network. The more blocks on top, the more work that would take. See [The longest chain (most work) rule](https://mybitcoinexplorer.com/learn/longest-chain-most-work).

## How many do I need?
| Payment | Common practice |
|---|---|
| Small, low risk | 0 to 1 |
| Everyday amounts | 1 to 3 |
| Large amounts, exchanges | 3 to 6 or more |

These are conventions, not rules. Each service decides its own policy.

## How long does it take?
Blocks come about every 10 minutes on **average**, but the gap between two blocks can be one minute or an hour. Your [fee rate](https://mybitcoinexplorer.com/learn/fee-rate-sat-per-vbyte) decides how soon you get into one.

> MyBitcoinExplorer counts confirmations from our own node's latest verified block, so a count can briefly lag another explorer by a few seconds after a new block.


## Track confirmations live
Paste your txid into MyBitcoinExplorer's [search](/explorer). The page shows the confirmation count and updates as new blocks arrive. If it says unconfirmed, check its fee rate against the [current estimates](/fees).

## How long do 6 confirmations take?
About an hour on average, but blocks are random: sometimes two come within a minute, sometimes none for 40 minutes. Over a full day the network averages about 144 blocks.


## Key takeaways

- One confirmation means the transaction is in a block.
- Each block on top adds a confirmation and makes reversal harder.
- How many you need depends on the amount at risk.

## Common questions

### Why is my transaction unconfirmed?

Usually the fee rate is too low for current demand. You can wait, or use RBF or CPFP to bump it.

### Is 6 confirmations a rule?

No, it's a common convention from the early days. The right number depends on the value and risk.

### Why does my exchange need more confirmations?

Exchanges handle large amounts, so they wait longer to make reversal impractical.

### Can confirmations go down?

Rarely: if the block holding your transaction is replaced in a reorg, the count can briefly drop until it confirms again.

## Related lessons

- [What is the Bitcoin mempool?](https://mybitcoinexplorer.com/learn/what-is-the-mempool)
- [The longest chain (most work) rule](https://mybitcoinexplorer.com/learn/longest-chain-most-work)
- [Stale blocks and chain reorganizations](https://mybitcoinexplorer.com/learn/stale-blocks-and-reorgs)
- [Replace-by-fee (RBF)](https://mybitcoinexplorer.com/learn/replace-by-fee-rbf)