If you’re into crypto trading, you’ve probably experienced a Bitcoin withdrawal delay. If you want to know what causes BTC delays and what to do if your transaction is pending for more than 72 hours, you’ve come to the right place.

In this guide, we’ll discuss the main reasons that can cause Bitcoin withdrawal pending issues and show you how to speed up your transactions.

What Is Bitcoin Withdrawal Delay?

BTC transactions take between 30 minutes and two hours, depending on the number of necessary confirmations. A Bitcoin withdrawal delay is a term that refers to a transaction that exceeds this time period. Now that you know what it is, how long can transactions stay unconfirmed?

BTC can confirm seven transactions per second, and the confirmation process takes about 10 minutes. If a BTC transaction is not confirmed within 72 hours, it will be canceled. Unconfirmed BTC transactions will be returned to the sender.

The speed of confirmation will depend on two factors — transaction fees and network load. Higher fees equal faster confirmations, while a congested network can lead to delays.

Reasons for Bitcoin Withdrawal Delays

The main reasons why a Bitcoin transaction is pending for more than 72 hours can be attributed to:

  • Incorrect details — The main reason for delays is providing an incorrect blockchain or wallet address. If you enter an invalid address, you won’t be able to submit a withdrawal request.
  • Bitcoin network fees — If the transaction fee is set to a minimum, the transaction process will be prolonged.
  • Network congestion — This often leads to delayed transactions. Many factors can cause network congestion, such as high transaction volumes and the launch of new coins.

What to Do if Your Bitcoin Withdrawal Is Delayed

If your Bitcoin transaction has been pending for 24 hours or more, you can do two things. You can send another transaction with higher fees to encourage validators to prioritize it. If this doesn’t help, you should contact customer support.

BTC transactions can sometimes be on hold if you’ve reached the withdrawal limit. If this happens, you need to increase your daily or monthly withdrawal limit or wait for it to reset.

You can also speed up your transactions using two methods: RBF and CPFP. The first method involves replacing an unconfirmed transaction with a new transaction that will incorporate higher fees. The second method involves creating a new transaction that will use unconfirmed funds from the previous transaction.

How to Avoid Bitcoin Withdrawal Delays

Here’s what you can do to avoid withdrawal delays:

  • Check congestion — Before you make a transaction, check if the network is congested. The BTC network is most congested on Mondays, during the peak hours, at 01:00 UTC, since traders usually buy crypto during this period. To avoid delays, conduct a transaction during off-peak hours.
  • Review platform — One way to prevent delays is to check the platform you’re using for withdrawals. Stay away from platforms that don’t audit their smart contracts and those lacking strong security measures. It’s also important to consider the experiences of other users, particularly about the withdrawal process.
  • Set custom fees— As noted earlier, paying higher fees leads to quicker transactions. When you make a BTC transaction, you will have three choices. You can choose high-priority, low-priority, or custom fee rates. High-priority transactions are completed in about 1 hour, whereas low-priority transactions take around 24 hours. If you select a custom fee rate and turn on RBF, you can speed up your withdrawal.

Security Risks Associated With a Bitcoin Withdrawal Delay

BTC withdrawal delays can also be caused by security issues, such as:

  • Fake crypto wallets—Some platforms are run by scammers who use fake crypto wallets to access the victim’s funds. They usually scam their victims by creating malicious mobile applications that look like crypto wallets. However, these applications are designed to steal the private keys of their users.
  • Wallet security — If a BTC transaction is processed but the funds are not visible in your wallet, you may have a problem with a security breach. This is why it’s important to use wallets that utilize rigid security measures, like 2FA and biometric authentication. In addition to that, you should double-check the wallet address to confirm that it’s correct.
  • Exchange/platform issues — A crypto exchange can delay all withdrawals due to technical issues, maintenance, and network upgrades. It can also suspend withdrawals if there’s a policy violation or if you’ve reached your withdrawal limit. If this happens, you should contact customer support for assistance.

Conclusion

As you can see, many factors may cause a Bitcoin withdrawal delay, such as network congestion, low fees, and incorrect details. To avoid delays, you should make transactions during off-peak hours. You should also use exchanges that audit their smart contracts and use strict security measures. At the same time, you can speed up your transactions by setting up higher fees.

Keep in mind that BTC transactions take between 30 minutes and two hours. If your transaction is pending for more than 72 hours, you should contact customer service.

FAQs

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