When you send ETHer (ETH) to another crypto wallet, you usually have to wait for the assets to be put in the receiving wallet – you wait for confirmations before your transaction is validated. But what is an Ethereum network confirmation, why are block confirmations necessary and how long does a confirmation take? These are all great questions that we will touch upon in this article. Read on to get the answers.
What is ETHereum?
First, let’s understand what ETHereum is. It is a blockchain platform that supports smart contracts as well as the development of decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. It also serves as a platform for other cryptocurrencies. As such, this is one of the most ambitious projects in the crypto sphere. The main goal of this project is to decentralize blockchain products and services. Because of the bright prospects of the project, ETH is the second most traded coin after Bitcoin (BTC).
For mining, ETHereum uses proof-of-work (PoW). In this protocol, for the generation of blocks, computers burn energy to solve cryptographic problems. This operation is necessary to power the blockchain. All the nodes in the network store a copy of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) locally.
The nodes are computers used for mining while the EVM is a software compiler. It translates smart contracts written by the developers in Vyper or Solidity programming languages. The code of the smart contracts is distributed in the blockchain. Through the EVM, all the changes in the smart contracts are executed as transactions on the blockchain.
What is an ETHereum Network Confirmation?
When you send ETH funds to a crypto wallet, what you do is submit a transaction to the blockchain. The transaction is added to the blockchain by so-called miners. Miners validate your transaction through confirmations. When a miner adds a block that includes your transaction to the blockchain, the first block confirmation of your transaction is recorded.
Hence, block confirmation is just including your transaction in a block that is added to the blockchain. The more block confirmations your transaction has, the better.
Why Are There Confirmation Requirements?
In other words, why do we need ETHereum confirmations? Confirmations are required to verify and legitimize information that will be recorded in the blockchain and cannot be changed afterward. If some information is assumed fraudulent, it will not get any confirmation. Without a single transaction confirmation Ethereum, the transaction won’t be considered valid by the network.
How Long Does a Confirmation Take?
We have discussed how many confirmations ETHereum needs to accept a transaction as valid. To deposit ETH funds in a receiving wallet, the number of required transactions is a function of the amount sent. The larger the transaction, the more block confirmations will be required to accept it. Imagine a transaction worth $1 million. It wouldn’t be surprising to see at least 60 pending confirmations before the transaction is accepted.
Each confirmation takes less than one minute. However, in practice, there is no consensus on how many confirmations ETHereum needs to accept a transaction as valid. Ethereum’s whitepaper establishes a minimum number of 7 confirmations to validate the transaction. That’s roughly equivalent to 2 minutes. However, in practice, miners check the last 250 blocks. It means that you need 250 confirmations to be on the safe side as miners are. Getting so many confirmations takes about 1 hour.
In practice, major exchanges require around 50 confirmations to consider an ETHereum transaction complete. Fewer confirmations won’t ensure a high level of security.
How to Buy ETHer (ETH)?
ETH is the most sought-after cryptocurrency aside from Bitcoin. Obviously, most exchanges list it. Each exchange has a procedure for users to buy ETH. However, in general, one can expect the following steps:
- Create a user account and verify your identity;
- Select the fiat currency that you will use to buy ETH;
- Input the amount of ETH that you want to buy;
- Input the address of your receiving wallet;
- Review the transaction quotation. If you are fine with it and the charged fees, approve the transaction.
You can buy ETH with a regular bank card. To convert ETH to fiat money, you need a bank account. Moreover, you should verify whether your bank accepts deposits from crypto exchanges.
It’s also possible to buy ETH using a different cryptocurrency. On decentralized exchanges, you can trade Bitcoin and around hundreds of altcoins for ETH without even registering a user account. Just send your exchange amount in another coin to the deposit address and receive ETH straight to your wallet.
Closing Thoughts
ETHereum is one of the largest and most promising cryptocurrencies. Some investors expect it to be as successful as Bitcoin, if not more. Including ETH in your investment portfolio is a smart move. Having learnt what is an Ethereum network confirmation and how long does a confirmation take, you can presume that buying this cryptocurrency is relatively safe thanks to the large number of block confirmations required by the network to accept a transaction.
