How much does it cost to send Bitcoin from one address to another? How much time does a Bitcoin transaction need in order to get from A to be?
We live in a world where security and privacy are important words. But, another word that might be just as important is speed. We want things to happen quickly, and waiting several days for a bank transfer to happen is almost unacceptable. But, what can you expect if you plan on sending Bitcoin from one address to another? How much time does it take for a Bitcoin transaction to happen? And, just as important, how much does it cost to send a Bitcoin transaction from A to B?
What is the Bitcoin transaction time?
There is no correct answer to the question. The Bitcoin transaction time is not one constant number of minutes, but it varies from day to day and from hour to hour. It is impacted by the number of miners active at the moment, and it is impacted by the amount of traffic (transactions) at the given moment. The task of the miners is to validate and register all the Bitcoin transactions in the network. The more work, the more miners are needed, but if the workload is very big, and the labors are few, then it will take a longer time to confirm the transactions on the network.
As you can see in the image above, the Bitcoin transaction time is normally somewhere between 30-60 minutes. But, at the worst days with tons of traffic and few miners, it did take more than a day for a Bitcoin transaction to happen. The latter is luckily not the normal, but it can happen.
- For an updated list of the Bitcoin average transaction times, check this site.
How much does a Bitcoin transaction cost?
We all know that some extra money can help you get any job done quicker. The same is true for a Bitcoin transaction. If you give a higher “gas” fee during a transfer, the miners will most likely include your transaction faster, and thus your transaction will reach its final destination quicker. But, you should know that there is no set Bitcoin transaction fee. It varies from day to day. Beneath you can see a chart showing the Bitcoin transaction cost in the last months.
As you can see, the Bitcoin transaction cost is changing a lot. Most crypto-exchanges run with a set fee for a BTC transfer and that is 0,001 BTC. Now, that sounds like a set fee, and it is, but as you can see, the prices above are set in USD. So, if Bitcoin has a value of 10,000USD, the transaction fee you pay to your exchange is 10 USD. But, if Bitcoin reaches a value of 20,000 USD, the transaction fee is suddenly 20 USD, even though the price really “hasn’t changed.”
- For an up-to-date list of Bitcoin transaction fees, check this site.
As you can see above, the Bitcoin transaction fee has changed a lot in the recent months. It has been as high as 60 USD for one single transaction, even though the normal is around 10-20USD. This is, however, something that you should remember. If you feel tempted to purchase a cup of coffee with Bitcoin, you might end up paying more for the transaction itself, than the cup of coffee you bought. There, spend your Bitcoins wisely!
Isn’t the SegWit and the lightning network upgrade going to make Bitcoin transactions both faster and cheaper? Maybe Bitcoin will turn into a cryptocurrency for daily use in the future with those upgrades?
Hey there,
If SegWit is implemented everywhere, that will greatly help in minimizing the fees, maybe make them as low as 1 USD per transaction (which still is a fairly high fee comparing it with other cryptocurrencies and payment methods). And, when the lightning network comes it will probably make things much faster, which will help to make Bitcoin easier and better for daily use. I do hope it will help, but I still feel like there are other cryptocurrencies much better for daily use than Bitcoin (core).