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Block Times and Confirmation Requirements: Reference Table
How long a block takes on each major network, and how many confirmations venues typically require before crediting.
| Entry type | reference |
|---|---|
| Section | comparison tables |
| Last verified | |
| Compiled by | Reference Desk |
Entry last verified May 2026. Confirmation requirements are set by individual venues and vary; the figures below describe typical ranges rather than any specific platform.
The parameters
| Network | Target block time | Finality model |
|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin | 10 minutes | Probabilistic |
| Ethereum | 12 seconds per slot | Economic, roughly 13 minutes to finalisation |
| Litecoin | 2.5 minutes | Probabilistic |
| Major rollups | Sub-second to seconds | Inherits from base layer on settlement |
| High-throughput layer 1 chains | Sub-second to a few seconds | Varies by design |
Why confirmation requirements differ
Three factors.
Chain security. A chain that is expensive to attack needs fewer confirmations for equivalent assurance. Smaller chains need substantially more.
Block time. A chain with fast blocks needs more of them to represent the same elapsed security.
Finality model. Networks with explicit finality can credit after the finalisation point rather than after a block count.
Reading a venue’s requirements as a signal
Confirmation thresholds are one of the few public statements a regulated business makes about a chain’s settlement quality, backed by its own money.
An asset requiring a large number of confirmations is one the venue does not trust quickly. Comparing thresholds across assets at the same venue produces a practical ranking that no marketing material provides.
These are published per asset and per network by platforms including a regulated European platform.
The tiered approach
Some venues require more confirmations for larger deposits, which is a sensible risk decision and is stated in the deposit documentation.
What to expect in practice
Deposits take longer than the same transfer to a personal wallet, because your wallet shows the current chain state after one confirmation while a venue is waiting for settlement assurance.
That gap is normal and is not a malfunction.
The edge cases
Deposits during a network upgrade. Venues suspend deposits around activations. Sending during a suspension can mean a long delay before manual crediting.
Deposits below the stated minimum. May not be credited automatically. Minimums are published alongside confirmation requirements.
Deposits on the wrong network. The venue was not watching. Recovery depends on the venue’s process.
All three are avoidable by reading the deposit page once, which takes two minutes and is the preparation almost nobody does.
Figures in this entry were correct on the date shown. Spotted something out of date?Send a correction and the entry gets updated.