Expected Bitcoin swap pending times: confirmations, fees, and fixes

I usually expect a Bitcoin on-chain swap to remain pending until the transaction gets enough confirmations. A new Bitcoin block is mined roughly every 10 minutes, so a single confirmation typically takes about 10 minutes on average, but network variability can make it longer.

Many services require 3–6 confirmations, so a normal pending window is often 30–60 minutes; internal swaps within the same exchange or custodial provider can be near-instant or just minutes. If I used a very low miner fee the transaction can stay unconfirmed for hours or even days during congestion.

I check the transaction ID on a block explorer (e.g., mempool.space), compare the fee against current mempool rates, and if needed I either bump the fee with RBF/CPFP or contact the service’s support—if it’s still pending after 24 hours I escalate to support or consider fee-bumping options if my wallet allows it.