How to Transfer Bitcoin

The starting point of a Bitcoin transfer

A Bitcoin transfer is the process of signing and sending a transaction to the network that directs spendable BTC to a new recipient. In a transfer from a personal wallet, you manage the signature yourself. In a withdrawal from an exchange, the platform creates the transaction upon your request. Fee selection, waiting times, and acceleration options can differ in these two scenarios.

This guide explains BTC transfers on the Bitcoin mainnet. Wrapped or bridged tokens shown as BTC on other networks are different assets. Lightning payments also use a separate method. Before sending, it is necessary to know exactly which network and payment format the recipient requires.

1. Get the correct address from the recipient

The recipient must generate a Bitcoin address from the "Receive" section of their wallet. If it is an exchange deposit, the address must be obtained from the exchange’s BTC deposit screen. Due to the risk of hijacked messaging accounts or fake websites, it can be useful to verify the address through a reliable second channel, especially for large amounts.

Addresses may appear in different formats starting with 1, 3, bc1q, or bc1p. These are associated with different Bitcoin address types. Do not try to convert the recipient’s address into another format yourself. If the sending service does not support an address type, check the official support documentation or use a compatible address option from the recipient.

After copying and pasting, compare the address again. There is malicious software that can change the address in the clipboard. Checking only a few characters may be insufficient, especially in attacks involving similar addresses. If you are using a hardware wallet, compare the information on the computer with the device’s own screen.

2. Set aside enough balance for the amount and fee

The amount of BTC to be sent and the network fee are different. The wallet fee may be deducted separately from the balance or deducted from the recipient’s amount in the "send all" option. Read the "Amount to Recipient" and "Total Spending" fields on the confirmation screen together. In exchange withdrawals, there may also be a minimum amount and withdrawal fee set by the platform.

Hypothetically, let’s say your balance is 0.01 BTC, the amount you want to send is 0.009 BTC, and the fee is 0.00002 BTC. The total spend is 0.00902 BTC, and the remaining balance is 0.00098 BTC. If the fee is deducted from the recipient’s amount, the result may be presented differently. Pay attention to which method the screen uses.

3. Understanding transaction fees

The Bitcoin network fee is not a fixed percentage of the money you send. The virtual size of the transaction and the selected sat/vB rate are what matter. "Sat" is short for satoshi; one BTC is 100 million satoshis. "vB" is a measure of transaction size used as virtual bytes.

For example, if a fee rate of 10 sat/vB is selected for a transaction with a size of 140 vB, the total fee would be 1,400 satoshis, or 0.000014 BTC. This is just a calculation example. The actual size varies depending on the inputs and outputs used. Spending a large number of small UTXOs in the same transaction can increase the size.

The wallet’s fast, normal, or economic suggestions are estimates. If network demand changes, the completion time also changes. A low fee can lead to long waits; a high fee does not guarantee a specific minute or block. Consider your urgency and the cost together.

4. Check the preview and sign

Before signing, the recipient address, network, amount sent, total fee, and remaining balance should be checked. A small trial transfer for an address used for the first time helps to see that it reaches the correct destination. However, do not perform a trial below the minimum deposit amount of the recipient exchange.

In a personal wallet, the signature is created with your key. In a hardware wallet, you confirm the details on the device screen. In an exchange withdrawal, an e-mail or two-factor authentication request may be sent. Use these codes only on the official transaction screen you initiated; do not forward them to a support representative.

5. Track the transaction with a TXID

When a transaction is sent to the network, a transaction ID called a TXID is generated. By searching for this ID in a Bitcoin explorer, you can see the recipient output, fee, and confirmation status. An exchange’s own withdrawal request number is not the same as a TXID; if the platform has not published it yet, a search on the chain may yield no results.

Zero confirmations indicate that the transaction has not yet been included in a block. The first confirmation arrives when it enters a block. Subsequent blocks increase the number. Although the average block time is about ten minutes, six confirmations do not mean exactly sixty minutes. The waiting time for the first block is separate.

An exchange recipient may wait for a specified number of confirmations. While the explorer shows the transaction as confirmed, the platform balance may still be processing. First, the exchange’s deposit terms and status screen should be checked. Sending a second time does not speed up the first transaction.

If the transaction stays pending for a long time

First, verify that the TXID is found in the correct explorer and that the transaction is indeed pending. Some wallets offer options to increase fees or send a replacement transaction for eligible transactions. RBF (Replace-By-Fee) is an approach to replace the same spend with a higher fee; CPFP (Child Pays For Parent) can increase the total fee appeal along with a new transaction that spends the associated output.

These options cannot be used in every transaction and every service. In an exchange withdrawal, you may not have control because the keys are on the platform. Do not apply to services requesting private keys under the name of "transaction recovery" sites. Private keys are not required to read a transaction on an explorer.

Cancellation and incorrect sending

There is no central cancel button for a confirmed Bitcoin transfer. In the case of sending to the wrong person, a refund is only possible with the cooperation of the recipient; the reachable owner of every address is not known. Therefore, the check must be done before signing.

If a wallet has a "cancel" option for a pending transaction, this usually aims to have another transaction using the same inputs confirmed first. It is not a guarantee of success; the first transaction may enter the block first. Do not think of the term on the screen as revoking a bank transfer. The network status and transaction order determine the result.

Change addresses in Bitcoin transfers

A Bitcoin wallet can use a previously received output to cover the amount you want to send. For example, if you are sending 0.03 BTC from your 0.1 BTC output, the remaining amount after the fee is deducted can go to your own wallet’s change address. Seeing two outputs in a block explorer, therefore, does not automatically mean you made an extra payment to someone else. Compare it with your own wallet’s transaction summary and net balance change. However, do not accept unknown destinations just because they are "change"; especially on a hardware wallet, verify the actual recipient address and the amount sent on the device screen.

Sources

• Bitcoin: Transaction structure
• Bitcoin.org: Confirmation and irreversibility
• BIP-125: Transaction replacement approach