Why Does Buying Bitcoin Take So Long? Understanding the Process

Many people know cryptocurrency for its ease of use and relatively high availability around the world, however, some of the cryptocurrencies also have certain drawbacks such as high fees and a reasonably long transaction speed. Why does buying Bitcoin take so long, how long does it take to confirm a Bitcoin transaction and how this whole process happens in relation specifically to the very first and most popular cryptocurrency — Bitcoin, we will analyze in this article.

How Long Does a Buying Bitcoin Usually Take

How long does it take a Bitcoin transaction to confirm? Cryptocurrency transfer is performed using an algorithm different from traditional payment systems that use blockchain databases and servers for communication. So that's why it takes more BTC confirmation time to approve and check.

In general, cryptocurrency transactions usually take about 30 minutes. The main factor that affects the speed of buying Bitcoins is blockchain overload. Most likely, a large number of transactions are currently being processed at the same time, including yours, too.

On different platforms and exchanges, a Bitcoin transaction, it doesn't matter if it's a purchase or a transfer, may vary but typically can take up from 30 to 60 minutes to receive confirmation. During peak network load periods, users often wait longer: in such cases, buying Bitcoin can take up to even a day or two.

How long does it take to confirm a Bitcoin transaction? As we've already mentioned, on various platforms, the time can vary greatly depending on different circumstances. On Cryptomus, you can buy Bitcoins without spending a lot of time on the process because our P2P exchange can conduct internal transactions between users without using the blockchain. Everything is done quite simply, and Bitcoins get from P2P exchange to your crypto wallet in a minimum amount of time. Try and check it!

Reasons Why Buying Bitcoin Takes So Long

Although Bitcoin is the very first and most popular cryptocurrency, it's significantly inferior to newer competitors in terms of network speed. When Bitcoin first started to gain popularity, there were no problematic issues; however, further transaction queues started to form. What is the reason for slow Bitcoin confirmations, and why does Bitcoin core take so long? Let's check!

• Network activity.

When there is a lot of activity and a lot of transactions on the network, transfers accumulate in a queue. Such a case often happens during periods of high price volatility of Bitcoin. At the same time, BTC technically cannot process more than seven operations per second. The activity of the network also implies the following reason for slow transactions: the priority is given to those who are paid the best.

• The amount of the commission.

Commissions fees usually are set by the platforms on which the purchase is made, but on some of them the initiators of the transaction can change it themselves, according to the rule: the higher — the faster. How long does it take for a Bitcoin transaction to go through? This is directly interrelated with the workload of the blockchain, because with a heavy load, users, in order to speed up their transactions, raise the fee higher and higher. These users' actions create a massive queue of transactors, constantly raising the amount of the commission in order to nominate their own one higher in the queue.

• Spam attacks.

How long for Bitcoin transaction to confirm? The answer may also be related to spam attacks that often occur when scammers send a large number of incorrect or meaningless transactions to the network in order to make it challenging to work and reduce performance. Such actions can cause delays in transaction processing, as miners will be busy processing these incorrect transactions instead of processing actual transactions. In this case, it's crucial to choose a reputable and reliable platform to buy Bitcoin, which has additional protection methods and is less susceptible to spam attacks.

What Affects the Speed of Buying Bitcoin

How long does it take for a Bitcoin transaction to be confirmed? In order to answer this question, it's essential to understand the main factors by which the speed of the Bitcoin blockchain is influenced and which are directly devoted to the average Bitcoin confirmation time. Here are several factors you should consider.

• Transaction volume.

The most obvious thing that can affect the transaction speed is transaction volume. The more considerable the amount, the longer it may take to confirm the transaction.

• Number of users who joined the network.

If many users are actively using the network at the time of Bitcoin purchase, the transaction processing time may increase. Unfortunately, you cannot personally influence this factor in any way. In that case you will only have to wait for the moment when the platform congestion becomes less low.

• Network congestion.

The confirmation time of a Bitcoin transaction depends on the activity of the network. During periods of high activity, transactions may take longer to process. The higher the Bitcoin exchange rate, the more people are attracted to these digital assets. Overall, it takes more Bitcoin confirmation time for users.

• Transaction fee.

Usually, the fees initially set by the platform don't affect the Bitcoin transaction confirmation time; however, you can personally influence the confirmation time and priority of your transaction by increasing the commission. The higher the reward for miners, the faster the confirmation will be. It's essential to remember that the network commission is a variable amount and directly depends on the number of unprocessed transactions in the network as a whole.

Why does buying Bitcoin take so long? As we've already mentioned it's influenced by a lot of factors and has its own reasons to work in such a way so they should be taken into account by anyone who wants to deal with the purchase of Bitcoins on the market.

Tips for Faster Bitcoin Purchases

Why does Bitcoin core take so long to shut down, and what aspects affect current Bitcoin confirmation time? We've prepared some tips that may help you better understand how to make Bitcoin slow confirmations faster. Let's see!

• Use reputable and secure P2P exchanges and platforms to buy Bitcoin.

• Check in advance about the amount of commissions and possible time of transactions. This issue can help to save you time.

• Try to use some exchanges that can conduct internal transactions only between users.

• Increase the commissions if you need a faster transaction.

Why is Bitcoin confirmations so slow now? This process is influenced by a lot of factors starting from the initial increasing popularity of Bitcoin among users, ending with the nuances of the work and congestion of the Bitcoin blockchain specifically, through which all transactions are made. We hope that the article is handy for you and now you understand the central time aspect of buying Bitcoin. Appreciate your time and buy Bitcoin faster together with Cryptomus!