@ -193,6 +193,10 @@ Joe then enters the bitcoin value for the transaction, 0.10 bitcoin. He carefull
If Alice has a smartphone or laptop with her, she will also be able to see the transaction. The bitcoin ledger—a constantly growing file that records every bitcoin transaction that has ever occurred—is public, meaning that all she has to do is look up her own address and see if any funds have been sent to it. She can do this quite easily at the((("blockchain.info website"))) blockchain.info website by entering her address in the search box. The website will show her a http://bit.ly/1u0FFKL[page] listing all the transactions to and from that address. If Alice is watching that page, it will update to show a new transaction transferring 0.10 bitcoin to her balance soon after Joe hits Send.
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.Confirmations
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((("confirmation of transactions")))At first, Alice's address will show the transaction from Joe as "Unconfirmed." This means that the transaction has been propagated to the network but has not yet been included in the bitcoin transaction ledger, known as the blockchain. To be included, the transaction must be "picked up" by a miner and included in a block of transactions. Once a new block is created, in approximately 10 minutes, the transactions within the block will be accepted as "confirmed" by the network and can be spent. The transaction is seen by all instantly, but it is only "trusted" by all when it is included in a newly mined block.
myarbrough@oreilly.com
10 years ago