How long does an Ethereum transaction take to proc

An average transaction on the Ethereum blockchain will typically take between 15 seconds and five minutes to process, depending on several factors. These include the amount paid to process it (transaction fee) and how busy the network is at the time of processing.

Ethereum transitioned from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake blockchain after the Merge. However, transaction speeds remain roughly the same. According to the Ethereum Foundation, it’s a common misconception that the Merge drastically sped up transactions.

However, there’s a slight difference, with slots occurring precisely every 12 seconds post-Merge compared with every 13.3 seconds pre-Merge. In any case, the change is barely noticeable by most users, as processing still usually depends on network congestion and transaction fees.

When a transaction is initiated, it is logged into Ethereum’s memory pool (mempool) and waits for validators to pick it up. The mempool functions much like a waiting room where pending transactions are held.

Once a validator enters transaction data into a block and adds the block to the blockchain, the transaction is considered complete. It is said to be finalized and irreversible after six additional blocks have been mined and added on top of it.

By checking a transaction’s status, traders can confirm whether their transaction has succeeded or failed and how many blocks have been created since their transaction was added to the chain.