Understanding Blockchain Confirmations: A Complete Guide
Learn how blockchain confirmations work, why they matter, and how many you need for different cryptocurrencies. This guide explains the concept using a simple train analogy.
At the beginning of the way of studying the work of cryptocurrencies and blockchain networks, many of us do not understand how networks work, why bitcoin transactions are confirmed for a long time, and how network confirmations appear. You can read about some technical details and the approximate calculation of the transaction confirmation time in our other article. Now we want to talk about this in a simpler language, using the example that everyone understands — train traffic.
The model is simplified and is only suitable for understanding the essence of the operation of transaction confirmation in blockchain networks.
• passengers — transactions • trains — new blocks appearing on the network • station — mempool network • ticket price — miner fees • controllers and engine drivers — miners • the number of trains that left the station after the passenger boarded with the train — the number of transaction confirmations
Any blockchain network must be supported by miners; they mine new blocks. Imagine that blocks are trains that arrive at the station approximately every 10 minutes. But the time interval between trains is always different and no one knows when there will be a new train. It happens that trains run every 2 minutes, and it happens that for more than an hour there are no new block trains.
How Confirmations Work
When you send a cryptocurrency transaction, it's like a passenger waiting at a train station. Your transaction enters the mempool (the station), where it waits to be included in a block (board a train). Miners (the train operators) select transactions based on the fees offered (ticket prices).
Confirmation Requirements by Network
• Bitcoin: Typically 1-6 confirmations (6 is standard for high-value transactions) • Ethereum: Usually 12-15 confirmations • Litecoin: Generally 6 confirmations • Fast networks: Some networks require only 1 confirmation
Why More Confirmations Mean More Security
Each confirmation represents another block added to the blockchain after your transaction. The more confirmations, the deeper your transaction is buried in the chain, making it exponentially more difficult to reverse. This is why exchanges and services often require multiple confirmations before considering a transaction final.
