This content is for educational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice or an inducement to buy, sell, or trade cryptoassets.
When transferring funds from your Magic Eden Wallet to an exchange, it's important to understand the concept of blockchain confirmations. The number of confirmations required can vary by blockchain and exchange.
What are blockchain confirmations?
Blockchain confirmations are a security measure used to ensure the validity of transactions. When you initiate a transfer, the transaction is added to the blockchain and must be confirmed by a certain number of subsequent blocks. Each confirmation represents one block added to the blockchain after your transaction block. The more confirmations, the more secure the transaction.
Why do confirmation requirements vary?
Different blockchains have varying levels of security and consensus mechanisms, resulting in different confirmation requirements. Additionally, exchanges set their own policies based on their security protocols and the specific blockchain's characteristics. This means that the same transaction might require a different number of confirmations depending on the blockchain and the receiving exchange.
Confirmation requirements by blockchain
Here are some general guidelines for confirmation times for our supported blockchains and popular exchanges:
Solana: Generally, exchanges require 31 to 40 confirmations, which takes about 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
Bitcoin: Most exchanges require 3 to 6 confirmations for Bitcoin transactions, which can take from 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on network conditions.
Polygon: Exchanges typically require 128 confirmations, which takes around 2 to 4 minutes.
Base: For Base (Layer 2 on Ethereum), 10 to 20 confirmations are often required, which takes around 1 to 2 minutes.
Ethereum: Exchanges usually require 12 to 30 confirmations, taking 2 to 6 minutes depending on network congestion.
Checking confirmation requirements with your exchange
Since confirmation requirements can vary by exchange, it's crucial to check the specific requirements of the exchange to which you are transferring your funds. Most exchanges provide this information in their help or FAQ sections. If you are unsure, it's always a good idea to contact the exchange's support team for clarification.
If you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to reach out to our support team.