Confirmation
Bitcoin transaction confirmation is needed to guarantee that a payment is finalized. One of the main advantages of bitcoin is that it solves the problem of double-spending[1], i.e. the risk that a digital currency token may be copied and spent more than once. In spite of having no central authority to verify that its tokens are not being duplicated, bitcoin successfully avoids double-spending through a system of decentralized transaction confirmation, based on the consensus of a network of validators. Bitcoin SV transaction confirmation time cannot be precisely predicted. However, once a transaction has been relayed around the network it has a high probability of being included in the next mined block.
How Bitcoin transaction are confirmed
A transaction is the exchange of information between parties. That information can be a quantity of [[Satoshis}, tokens or data of some other kind. Confirmation occurs when that transaction is included in a block that is added to the Bitcoin Block chain. When a user wishes to have a transaction confirmed, the complete transaction is broadcast from their wallet to miners in the Core network who verify that it is valid. Once validated, miners will decide whether or not to include this transaction in their block template and attempt to mine it. When a miner discovers a block that includes the transaction, it is considered confirmed. Each time a new block is added to the chain, the transaction is said to be confirmed again with the number of confirmations being the number of blocks added to the ledger that build upon the block containing the transaction.
Bitcoin SV Confirmation Time
Typically, a transaction that is sent to the network with fees that adhere to the acceptance rate of X% of the network's hash rate will have X% chance of being mined in the next block.
For example, if it is known that 20% of nodes will accept transactions at a given fee rate, the user can assume that there is a 20% chance of it being included in the next block, or conversely that it is likely to be mined in 1 of the next 5 blocks, or within a 50 minute timeframe. For users whos transactions are less time critical, this is a great way to save money, especially in high volume applications.
Confirmations in Commerce
Transaction confirmations are a means for receivers to be certain that the information they have received is valid and backed by the proof of work on the network. For most applications, including small to medium value commerce, confirmations are not required however many businesses including cryptocurrency exchanges will make users wait for up to 6 confirmations before accepting funds for trade. Importantly, it is up to the user to set their own comfort threshold for doing business.
See Also
References
[1] Nakamoto, Satoshi. "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System."