Post
Topic
Board Beginners & Help
Re: FAKE or STOLEN Bitcoins
by
Relnarien
on 13/04/2014, 10:04:40 UTC
Is it possible for someone to give me fake or stolen bitcoins?

How long do I wait to make sure a BTC is "legit" and truly mine?

Since Bitcoin is a currency that was designed to change hands often, there is always a chance of receiving stolen Bitcoins. That shouldn't be a problem though, provided that you didn't steal them yourself. Bitcoin is money in digital form -- that's all it is. As for "fake Bitcoins," that's not even a real thing. An unconfirmed transaction doesn't make a Bitcoin fake. Just wait until the transaction is confirmed, and barring the possibility of a double spend attack resulting from a forked blockchain, then those Bitcoins should be yours until you spend them. The general rule of thumb is to wait for 6 confirmations (roughly 60 minutes) before considering the transaction as fully confirmed.