Bitcoin undoubtedly has the largest cryptocurrency network ever to exist, and millions of transactions are processed every single day on the network. But we all know that Bitcoin follows the proof-of-work mechanism where your transaction is first processed or verified by the miners in order to get confirmations before the transaction can reach the destination. But what if you initiate a Bitcoin transaction, and it does not go through, even for hours? Is it actually possible to reverse that transaction, or will you lose your funds on the blockchain?

Well, this is what we are going to discuss in this article and see if you can stop or reverse a Bitcoin transaction. But before that, it is also important to know how the blockchain-based Bitcoin system works before we dive into the details of our actual concern.

The Bitcoin blockchain system - How does it work?

Bitcoin is simply based on the blockchain system, which can also be considered as a ledger where every single transaction that takes place on the network is recorded and verified. The thing is, Bitcoin was created with decentralization in mind so that there would not be any third party interfering with your funds. In short, you have full access to your funds without any restrictions.

But with decentralization comes no party, organization, or company involved in order to take care of the transactions and everything that happens within the system. For that, the Bitcoin creator made sure to integrate a proof-of-work system allowing the whole system to work smoothly without the need for a third party. So whenever a transaction takes place on the Bitcoin network, it is first verified or confirmed by multiple miners. If all the necessary confirmations are not done, the transaction does not complete, and the funds do not reach their destination. 

How many confirmations are required for a Bitcoin transaction?

The number of confirmations required to process a Bitcoin transaction usually varies, depending on the exchange you are using and the amount you are sending. But most times, six confirmations are required for a Bitcoin transaction to reach the other side successfully.

Can you reverse a Bitcoin transaction with 1 confirmation?

Unfortunately, it is not possible to stop or reverse a Bitcoin transaction if it has received a confirmation. This is because the transaction has been made available on the blockchain due to that single confirmation, and the policies of the Bitcoin blockchain system strictly restrict any type of tampering with the transactions.

In that case, you can only hope for the transaction to reach the other side without any problems. And in case you want to get your assets back, you can request a refund from the other party you have sent the assets.

Can you reverse and resend a Bitcoin transaction with no confirmations?

Yes, it is possible to reverse and resend a Bitcoin transaction if that particular transaction has received no confirmations from the network. So make sure to keep this aspect in mind before you proceed with stopping your Bitcoin transaction.

How can you reverse a Bitcoin transaction with no confirmations?

It is actually quite simple to reverse a Bitcoin transaction with no confirmation, and here is how you can do it:

• First, you will have to get the TX ID of your Bitcoin transaction and paste it into any blockchain explorer to fetch its details.
• When you have confirmed that your transaction has received no confirmations, you can proceed with the reversal process.
• Now you will have to use an RBF (Replace By Fee) protocol, as it is pretty much the only way to reverse, stop, and resend your Bitcoin assets. RBF protocol replaces the fee set on your previous transaction with a new and higher fee so that the miners could quickly pick the transaction and confirm it. 
• Now you can again put in the TX ID on any blockchain explorer and check if it is confirmed or not.

Why do transactions remain unconfirmed on the Bitcoin Blockchain?

There are several reasons why transactions would remain unconfirmed on the Bitcoin Blockchain. As we all know, Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency ever to exist, but the thing is, it is not the best. It has an inefficient blockchain structure that makes it slower compared to what we have now. Well, due to that slow processing, your particular transaction might be unconfirmed on the blockchain. Not only that, but heavy traffic on the blockchain also highly affects the processing time, and miners usually go with the transactions that offer higher fees, leaving the transactions with lower fees behind.

Lastly, most of the latest-gen crypto wallets set a transaction fee by themselves according to the network traffic and all, but if you manually set it and keep it too low, there is a high chance your transaction will not be confirmed by any of the miners. So it is better to stick to what the wallet suggests and even select the fastest transaction time for a seamless experience.

Summary

With this article, you should now have understood how the whole system behind Bitcoin transactions works, why the transactions can be unconfirmed sometimes, and how you can reverse them and resend them. It is a fairly simple process, but of course, it can be a little frustrating sometimes. But if you do not want your transaction to be stuck forever, make sure to use the methods mentioned above and reverse your transaction.

Marketplacefairness.org provides all its content for informational purposes only, and this should not be taken as financial advice to buy, trade or sell cryptocurrency or use any specific exchange. Please do not use this website as investment advice, financial advice or legal advice, and each individual's needs may vary from that of the author. This post includes affiliate links with our partners who may compensate us. 

To view our privacy policy read it here.