You press send, your coins vanish from your wallet, and then… nothing. That awkward wait while your transaction crawls through the network is part of the crypto experience. The funny thing is that not all networks treat time in the same way. Some chains run on probabilistic finality, like Bitcoin, where each new block makes it less and less possible for your payment to be reversed. Others rely on deterministic finality, meaning once the network stamps a transaction as final, it cannot go back. Whether your payment feels instant or makes you sweat for half an hour depends on the chain, the fee you pay, and the type of finality it uses. So, let’s dig into how long transactions tend to take, what can slow them down, and why moving coins inside an exchange is a different story altogether. Whether your payment feels instant or makes you sweat for half an hour depends on the chain, the fee you pay, and the type of finality it uses. type of finality type of finality Typical Wait Times Across Popular Networks Bitcoin has been running since 2009 and sets the tone for “slow but solid.” Each block takes around 10 minutes, and most services want six blocks to call it ‘confirmed’. That’s about an hour if things run smoothly. Ethereum is faster, with confirmations landing anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes, but it depends heavily on the gas fee you set. Pay too little and your transaction might linger at the bottom of the pile for days –this is true for Bitcoin as well. confirmed confirmed Solana is the opposite of Bitcoin’s rhythm. It can show a confirmed transaction in seconds, and it has three levels of certainty: processed, confirmed, and finalized. That quick turnaround is handy for apps that need speed, although the network’s complexity sometimes creates its own headaches. three levels three levels That quick turnaround is handy for apps that need speed, although the network’s complexity sometimes creates its own headaches. Obyte works in a different way. Instead of blocks, it uses a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG). The more traffic the network has, the faster transactions become stable. During busy times, that can be as little as a minute or two. In quiet periods, it may stretch up to 30 minutes. Once a transaction is stable, Obyte’s deterministic finality kicks in. No event can undo it, ever. Obyte Obyte On the other hand, Layer 2 (L2) networks like Optimism or Arbitrum settle transactions in seconds, but you have to remember that many of them anchor to Ethereum or another mainnet for their final word. They feel faster and cheaper on the surface, but inherit security from somewhere else. Why Transactions Get Stuck and How to Fix Them A stuck transaction is like a letter that got left behind at the post office. The most common culprit is setting a fee too low when the network is crowded. On Ethereum and similar chains, you can often resend the same transaction with a higher gas price, which most wallets describe as a “speed up” option. resend the same transaction resend the same transaction On Bitcoin, the trick is to use Replace-by-Fee (RBF) or Child-pays-for-parent (CPFP). Both methods essentially bribe miners to pick up your forgotten transaction by attaching extra fees. Wallets like Electrum and Trezor make it easier to pull off. On Bitcoin, the trick is to use Replace-by-Fee (RBF) or Child-pays-for-parent (CPFP). Trezor Trezor Sometimes, the hold-up is not on the network itself, but on an exchange. You might see your transaction confirmed on a block explorer while the exchange still shows “pending.” That usually means they are taking their time crediting your balance. In that case, no amount of fee tweaking will help. The only move is to wait or contact their support desk. The key is not to panic. Transactions can stay pending for hours (or days, in the worst cases) without being lost. They are either confirmed eventually, replaced with a higher fee, or dropped from the network so you can try again. Transactions can stay pending for hours (or days, in the worst cases) without being lost. Centralized Exchanges and Custody Transfers between users inside a centralized exchange (CEX) like Binance or Coinbase often feel instant. That’s because the coins never touch any chain. The company updates an internal database, and your account balance changes —the actual coins are stored elsewhere, likely offline. It’s quick and convenient, but those “instant” transfers are only possible because the exchange has custody of your coins. You are trusting them to hold, record, and eventually let you withdraw. The flip side is that you don’t really control the coins until they are withdrawn on-chain. If the exchange freezes withdrawals for any reason, you won’t be able to move them anywhere. So, while the on-chain world may test your patience, you gain ownership the moment your transaction is final. Inside a CEX, you trade speed for trust, which is why many seasoned users prefer self-custody despite the extra waiting time. If the exchange freezes withdrawals for any reason, you won’t be able to move them anywhere. self-custody self-custody Obyte’s main wallet is non-custodial (you own your private keys). However, its native coin GBYTE can be traded in several centralized exchanges, where you may lose full control of it. Temporarily, in the best case (until you withdraw), or permanently if the exchange fails for any reason and your funds are still there. Obyte’s main wallet Obyte’s main wallet It’s important to remember that exchanges aren’t wallets. They work to exchange, precisely, but storing coins there for long periods isn’t recommended. Featured Vector Image by photoroyalty / Freepik Featured Vector Image by photoroyalty / Freepik Freepik Freepik
