How Long Does a Cryptocurrency Transaction Take?

Time and speed are crucial in cryptocurrency transactions, particularly in international transfers or business deals where every second matters. In today's article, we will tell you the main factors that affect crypto transfers and share how you can accelerate the process.

Which Factors Affect Transaction Time?

The speed of processing and confirming crypto transactions depends on different factors. Let's dive deeper into them:

• Validators and miners: their speed of work impacts the verification of transfers and additions to the blockchain, after which the transactions are confirmed. For example, in Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, speed is connected with the net's computational power and mining difficulty. Miners create new blocks every 10 minutes on average, which is currently slow. In contrast, with validators in Proof-of-Stake (PoS), the confirmation is faster and easier because it doesn't require complex mathematical computations.

• Network congestion: user activity significantly impacts payment speed. For example, during periods of high trading activity, transaction processing times increase because miners and validators prioritize operations with higher fees.

• Transaction fees: high commissions motivate miners and validators to prioritize the verification of your transactions by offering higher fees. Therefore, users can modify the sum by increasing the amount to speed up the payment processing. Some platforms provide real-time recommendations on optimal commission to enhance transfer score.

• Network confirmation: for cryptocurrency transactions to be valid, they must be confirmed at certain times. The number of confirmations ranges in the crypto’s protocol; for each, the amount is different. For instance, transfers with Bitcoin require 6 confirmations. In turn, the speed of validation varies the net bandwidth, which is specified in each blockchain's protocol.

It is worth noting that the factors mentioned above do not always apply when transferring cryptocurrency within the same platform. For example, on Cryptomus, if both the sender’s and recipient's wallets are on Cryptomus, the funds are credited instantly, regardless of the cryptocurrency or network chosen.

To always know about the status of your transfer and to have peace of mind about your funds, use a transaction tracker. Simply enter the transaction hash to check if your transaction was verified on the blockchain and the funds were deposited to the recipient's wallet

Transaction Time Of Different Cryptocurrencies

Each blockchain has its own confirmation time in the network, different levels of congestion, and different fee structures. Let's explore the transaction speed and processing times of the most popular blockchains and payment networks: Bitcoin, USDT, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP.

Bitcoin

The time for Bitcoin transfers takes from 10 to 60 minutes with 3 to 6 confirmations. A new block is created on average every 10 minutes, but this does not guarantee instant confirmation as the transaction may fall into an existing block. If the fee is low and the network is overloaded, a transfer might linger in the mempool for several hours or even days. This limited capacity is due to the block size being just 1 MB, which restricts the amount of available operations.

To speed up the transfer, increase the commissions‘ sum, which serves as an additional incentive for miners to process your request more quickly.

USDT

USDT is a stablecoin that operates across different blockchains, including Ethereum (ERC-20 token), Tron (TRC-20 token), and Binance Smart Chain (BEP-20 token), where the speed varies a lot. On Ethereum, confirmation takes from 1 to 30 minutes due to the high traffic and expensive commissions, while in Tron or Binance Smart Chain, transfers take place in seconds with minimal costs.

TRC-20 is often the optimal choice for most users due to its rapid speed and near-zero fees. As for ERC-20, it is not such a common choice, as its commissions are expensive. This means you will have to pay even more if you want to prioritize your transaction and speed up processing. So, users select it if the platform or wallet supports only this option. However, if another network is available, you can exchange tokens in ERC-20 for tokens in TRC-20; just use crypto bridges. This will help you avoid high commissions.

Ethereum

Ethereum is one of the slowest blockchains due to its network congestion. The average transaction processing time on Ethereum varies from 13 seconds to 5 minutes, but during high traffic periods it reaches more than 30 minutes. Therefore, validation speed depends on the gas fee: the higher it is, the faster validators will include the operation in the block.

Additionally, the transaction time on Ethereum may depend on the exchange or service used for the transfer. Some platforms require more validations, which increases the overall processing time.

Solana

Solana is among the fastest players that are ideal for sending digital assets and working with decentralized applications (dApps). On average, transfers are completed in 10 seconds, and validation takes only from 0.4 to 0.5 seconds. This is possible by a combination of Proof-of-Stake (PoS) and Proof-of-History (PoH) consensus mechanisms that enable instantaneous processing and great throughput.

Solana handles up to 65,000 TPS (transactions per second), which is one of the record speeds among blockchains. At the same time, transaction fees remain minimal, just $0.00025, meaning that even if you want to speed up confirmation during periods of high network congestion, you won’t have to overpay significantly. Despite delays, Solana remains the amazing solution for fast and low-cost cryptocurrency transfers.

XRP

XRP is known not only for its cheap fees but also for its transactions’ throughput. The network processes up to 1,500 TPS, and on average, a transfer is confirmed in 3 to 5 seconds. So even during times of overloading, delays are minimal, and transfers are almost instantaneous.

This rapid confirmation makes XRP convenient for international and everyday transfers, as well as settlements. Due to such characteristics, financial institutions like Santander Bank, American Express Bank, SBI Holdings, and others use XRP’s blockchain for efficient transactions.

Thus, speed is an important factor to consider when choosing a cryptocurrency for transfers. Make sure to pay attention to network throughput, fees, and the consensus mechanism of the blockchain. If a transaction is delayed, don’t panic—they are normal for blockchains. To always stay updated on your transfer status, use the Cryptomus explorer.

Which option will you choose for sending crypto? Write about it in the comments.