<p><strong>TL;DR: when you interact with a custodial service (ie you don't own the privkeys), it is entirely up to that service to 'credit your account' appropriately.</strong> </p>

<p>There are many types of Bitcoin wallets, but on a fundamental level we can draw a line between two types of wallets: those that give you access to your private keys (non-custodial), and those that do not give you access to your private keys (custodial). </p>

<p>If you send funds to a non-custodial wallet, you will retain the ability to do whatever you please with those funds, because you own the private keys (which are what allow the software to create valid transactions). Even if the wallet software you use ends up being broken, you can always just import the keys to some different wallet to recover your funds (assuming the wallets being used follow the industry standards of BIP 32/39/44/84 etc).</p>

<p>If you send funds to a non-custodial wallet, there will generally be a waiting period between the transaction confirming on-chain, and the service you sent funds to 'crediting your account'. The length of this waiting period is entirely up to to the service, but generally it will be several confirmations on-chain (meaning, you have to wait for a few blocks after the one your transaction confirmed in). This waiting period is a safety mechanism for the service: it helps ensure they are protected in the case of a <a href="https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/3343/what-is-the-longest-blockchain-fork-that-has-been-orphaned-to-date">chain re-org</a> that could potentially erase recent deposit transactions from their customers. </p>

<hr>

<p>So with all that in mind, if you are waiting for your custodial account to be credited, the most you can do is contact the service in question to see what the status of your account is. Since they own the private keys for the address you deposited to, they are the only ones that can now spend the coins you sent to them. </p>

<p><strong>Remember: you must fully trust a custodial service to credit your account properly.</strong> When you choose to interact with any custodial service, it is prudent to consider what recourse you will have in the case they do not properly credit your account. Are they a legitimate business located in a jurisdiction that will hold them accountable to theft or other abuses? Or are they a service run by anonymous individuals, against whom you will have no possibility of recourse? </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-12T23:22:56.060Z
2020-01-12T23:22:56.060Z
chytrik
<p>I have been waiting to receive bitcoins for close to 7 hours now. The number of confirmations is currently 111, so why is it so? here is the transaction batch 95d5dcb612446d67e38ef9246fdcd20a5f500766431321ba9ff7280567d01e59</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-12T07:58:15.353Z
Are you using a bitcoin wallet or have an account with some website? If it is the later then you have to contact them since they control your funds.
Coding Enthusiast
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-12T10:36:02.800Z
i have a bitcoin wallet by localbitcoin> however the payment is from an investment company known as unity forex club
orwasa
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-12T10:40:07.550Z
so who among the two has the funds?
orwasa
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-12T10:48:15.733Z
@orwasa I think you have this address `1B84x6LM8ZC6QEu2LbGQy8XEva5jEuH9CX` or rather this have at the moment the only  don't have spend the bitcoin inside your transaction hash
vincenzopalazzo
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-12T11:39:54.177Z
@orwasa as long as you don't have any access to any private keys you do not have a wallet, you have an account and no control. Contact the website owners (localbitcoin in this case) and ask them why your account is not credited.
Coding Enthusiast
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-12T12:30:44.660Z
@vincenzopalazzo that address is not the receiving wallet and i dont have access to it
orwasa
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-12T12:32:59.660Z
@coding Enthusiast i have contacted both of them , localbitcoins is yet to reply, uh-mmh i wonder, according to that batch number, has the funds really been released?
orwasa
<confirmations>
why is the number of confirmations rising yet i haven't been credited with the bitcoins?
orwasa
# why is the number of confirmations rising yet i haven't been credited with the bitcoins?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-01-12)

I have been waiting to receive bitcoins for close to 7 hours now. The number of confirmations is currently 111, so why is it so? here is the transaction batch 95d5dcb612446d67e38ef9246fdcd20a5f500766431321ba9ff7280567d01e59

**Tags:** confirmations

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Are you using a bitcoin wallet or have an account with some website? If it is the later then you have to contact them since they control your funds.  
> **username_0**: i have a bitcoin wallet by localbitcoin> however the payment is from an investment company known as unity forex club  
> **username_0**: so who among the two has the funds?  
> **username_2**: @username_0 I think you have this address `1B84x6LM8ZC6QEu2LbGQy8XEva5jEuH9CX` or rather this have at the moment the only  don't have spend the bitcoin inside your transaction hash  
> **username_1**: @username_0 as long as you don't have any access to any private keys you do not have a wallet, you have an account and no control. Contact the website owners (localbitcoin in this case) and ask them why your account is not credited.  
> **username_0**: @username_2 that address is not the receiving wallet and i dont have access to it  
> **username_0**: @username_1 username_1 i have contacted both of them , localbitcoins is yet to reply, uh-mmh i wonder, according to that batch number, has the funds really been released?  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2020-01-12. Score: 1

**TL;DR: when you interact with a custodial service (ie you don't own the privkeys), it is entirely up to that service to 'credit your account' appropriately.**

There are many types of Bitcoin wallets, but on a fundamental level we can draw a line between two types of wallets: those that give you access to your private keys (non-custodial), and those that do not give you access to your private keys (custodial).

If you send funds to a non-custodial wallet, you will retain the ability to do whatever you please with those funds, because you own the private keys (which are what allow the software to create valid transactions). Even if the wallet software you use ends up being broken, you can always just import the keys to some different wallet to recover your funds (assuming the wallets being used follow the industry standards of BIP 32/39/44/84 etc).

If you send funds to a non-custodial wallet, there will generally be a waiting period between the transaction confirming on-chain, and the service you sent funds to 'crediting your account'. The length of this waiting period is entirely up to to the service, but generally it will be several confirmations on-chain (meaning, you have to wait for a few blocks after the one your transaction confirmed in). This waiting period is a safety mechanism for the service: it helps ensure they are protected in the case of a [chain re-org](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/3343/what-is-the-longest-blockchain-fork-that-has-been-orphaned-to-date) that could potentially erase recent deposit transactions from their customers.

---

So with all that in mind, if you are waiting for your custodial account to be credited, the most you can do is contact the service in question to see what the status of your account is. Since they own the private keys for the address you deposited to, they are the only ones that can now spend the coins you sent to them.

**Remember: you must fully trust a custodial service to credit your account properly.** When you choose to interact with any custodial service, it is prudent to consider what recourse you will have in the case they do not properly credit your account. Are they a legitimate business located in a jurisdiction that will hold them accountable to theft or other abuses? Or are they a service run by anonymous individuals, against whom you will have no possibility of recourse?


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