Title: minconf value Post by: yadda on August 09, 2012, 04:06:03 PM I haven't been able to find this information anywhere.
What is a high enough commonly accepted minconf value for ensuring that a transaction is permanent or isn't going to get reversed? Thanks. Title: Re: minconf value Post by: Stephen Gornick on August 09, 2012, 07:26:47 PM I haven't been able to find this information anywhere. What is a high enough commonly accepted minconf value for ensuring that a transaction is permanent or isn't going to get reversed? Thanks. The right value will vary for each service depending on risk tolerance. The widely agreed upon value is 6 confirmations. Some services accept on 3 confirmations. Others as little as 1 or 0 even, because they either aren't worried about double spends or operate in a way that protects against double spends. If you are an exchange or anything like that, 6 is the number to use. If you have a service that would benefit from faster confirmations it is a risk/reward determination. Ecommerce sites might be fine with 3 confirmations. If you have a service that has high margins and would benefit from giving credit for bitcoin payments instantly, then you might consider 0, though you'ld want to take the recommended precautions to prevent a race attack. When in doubt, pick 6. - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Double-spending |