How on-chain deposit confirmations actually work
Every swap you'll run makes you wait for "confirmations" on the source chain before your payout is released. This post explains what a confirmation is, why the number matters, and why Bitcoin usually needs fewer than Dogecoin.
What a confirmation is
A confirmation is a block that includes — or sits on top of — a block containing your transaction. When your deposit transaction lands in block N, it has one confirmation. When the next block (N+1) is mined, it has two. And so on.
The reason confirmations matter is that the tip of the chain isn't stable. A miner somewhere could mine a competing block at height N and, if their fork wins, your transaction disappears from the canonical chain. The deeper your transaction sits, the more blocks a would-be reorganizer would have to redo.
Why the number changes by chain
Different chains have different security budgets and different block times. Rough defaults for the pairs we support:
- Bitcoin (BTC): 2–6 confirmations. One confirmation is often enough for small amounts because Bitcoin's mining hash rate makes deep reorgs expensive.
- Litecoin (LTC): ~6 confirmations. Faster blocks (2.5 min) but much lower hash rate than Bitcoin, so you want more depth.
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH): ~6 confirmations. Similar reasoning to LTC.
- Dogecoin (DOGE): 20+ confirmations. Very fast blocks (1 min) but the lowest hash rate of the group.
The confirmations count on the swap status page reflects the source chain's requirement. When it hits the required number, your payout is queued.
What "1 confirmation" actually guarantees
Not much. A single-block reorg happens all the time on any chain. The industry rule of thumb is:
- Zero confirmations = you've broadcast, someone can double-spend against you.
- One confirmation = your transaction is in a block, but the tip is not stable.
- Six confirmations on Bitcoin = the probability of a reorg deep enough to undo you is negligible for any practical amount.
Some services accept zero-confirmation for tiny amounts and manage the risk. Swap services don't, because a reversed deposit becomes an unmatched payout — a hard loss.
Why swaps can't just "trust" you
The alternative to waiting for confirmations is trusting the sender. That doesn't scale. Instead, the swap watches the chain for your specific deposit, counts confirmations, and only releases the destination-side payout when the source-side deposit is old enough that it can't reasonably be undone.
What you can do while you wait
- Watch the swap status page — every confirmation increments live.
- If you gave your email, keep the tab open; we don't spam.
- Don't send another deposit thinking the first one is stuck. Two deposits will both credit, and depending on the swap, the second one may be treated as an overpayment refund case.
The tl;dr
Confirmations are the on-chain equivalent of "let the ink dry." They're the difference between a swap that works and a swap that gets reversed. The count varies by chain because block time and hash rate vary by chain. Nothing about the wait is punitive — it's the price of not needing to trust you or us.