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I am trying understand the Bitcoin verification process.
What happens, if a new block has not been found and there are enough transactions waiting to fill the current block size limit?

Will a new block be automatically created, or will we all be waiting for the new block?

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  • Hi Prasad, I tried to improve the phrasing of your question, I hope that I understood correctly, what you were trying to ask. If I didn't get it right, please feel free to edit it further.
    – Murch
    May 11, 2015 at 8:06

2 Answers 2

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We don't have to wait until a block is full, instead blocks are created in a random process. Whenever one is found, the miners directly try finding the next one. This takes roughly ten minutes, regardless of how many transactions are waiting to be confirmed.

So, we'll all be waiting for the new block.

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Bitcoin verification and confirmation are different.

You spend your bitcoins to a merchant, and the merchant could verify it immediately (<1 second).

Your transaction will then be transmitted via bitcoin p2p client network and it will be added to the public ledger (blockchain), with in next 10 mins. This process is known as confirmation.

After this 10 mins, that merchant could spend the bitcoins he received from you.

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