How To Send Bitcoin

Sending Bitcoin is almost as simple as receiving it — with one important difference.

In your wallet, tap “Send.” Enter the recipient’s Bitcoin address — either by typing it, pasting it, or scanning their QR code. Enter the amount. Review the transaction. Confirm.

That’s the process. But the confirmation step deserves more attention than most people give it.

Bitcoin transactions are irreversible. There’s no cancel button, no dispute process, no customer service team. Once a transaction is broadcast to the network and confirmed, it cannot be undone. If you send Bitcoin to the wrong address — a typo, a copied address that was silently changed by malware, a scammer’s address — it’s gone.

This sounds alarming. In practice, it just means developing a habit: always verify the first and last few characters of an address before confirming. Most experienced Bitcoin users do this automatically.

You’ll also need to choose a transaction fee. This is a small amount paid to the miners who process and confirm your transaction. Higher fee = faster confirmation. Lower fee = slower, but still gets there. Most wallets suggest a fee automatically based on current network conditions.

In normal conditions, a standard fee gets a transaction confirmed within 10 to 30 minutes. During periods of high network activity, it can take longer or cost more.

Once confirmed, the transaction is permanent. It’s on the blockchain forever.

That permanence is exactly what makes Bitcoin trustworthy. Nobody can reverse it — including you.

Tomorrow: a week recap — and what the last two weeks have built.

— The Daily Bit