<p>Bitcoin is about taking proposed changes to a data set (transactions submitted to the blockchain), and having a decentralized network come to consensus on which changes are accepted in which order.  You are asking about the <em>proposed</em> changes, which by definition means that they are <em>not</em> yet agreed upon.  As such, nobody can tell you which changes are "in limbo", because we haven't agreed on which ones count.  If I run 5 nodes in my basement, and they lost connectivity to the rest of the network, do transactions in their mempool count?  What happens when they reconnect?</p>

<p>In Bitcoin, nothing really counts until consensus is reached.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-26T03:23:46.007Z
2017-10-26T03:23:46.007Z
Jestin
<p>This question cannot be answered reliably.</p>

<p>The only part of Bitcoin that is publicly known is the blockchain. The transactions that are confirmed are on the blockchain, that is shared online.</p>

<p>The transaction is "stuck in limbo" - unconfirmed - from the moment it is created to the moment it is in blockchain. However, you cannot tell reliably when it was created.</p>

<p>Each node tracks unconfirmed transactions, and it can track where it saw the transaction first, but it doesn't really mean when it was created.</p>

<p>Blockchain.info shows this as "Received time". You could probably count answer to your question from that, but it wouldn't be reliable.</p>

<p>I can add a personal answer: I run my own node and sometimes look on mempool, what is the oldest transaction there; today, I saw 6 days old transactions in mempool. So, the longest will be surely more than 6 days. But that is just an incomplete, personal observation. :)</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-26T02:16:56.810Z
2017-10-26T02:16:56.810Z
Karel Bílek
<p>What is the longest time a transaction has been in limbo for in Bitcoin?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-25T21:53:27.543Z
Closing as "unclear what you are asking" since nodes in the network wont have a consistent view of the mempool, I don't see how this question can lead to a consistent answer. On top of that, nodes can also have different mempool policies for unconfirmed transactions.
rny
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-26T02:08:33.783Z
Not voting for closing. The fact that the question is not answerable is not a reason for closing, it would be IMO better to explain why it is not answerable. It is clear what he is asking, it just cannot be answered reliably.
Karel Bílek
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-10-26T08:18:00.897Z
14 days is the default time for tx to leave the mempool if not confirmed https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/46152/how-do-transactions-leave-the-memory-pool/46153
dark knight
<unconfirmed-transactions><confirmations>
What is the longest time a transaction has been in limbo for?
Patoshi パトシ
# What is the longest time a transaction has been in limbo for?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-10-25)

What is the longest time a transaction has been in limbo for in Bitcoin?

**Tags:** unconfirmed-transactions, confirmations

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Closing as "unclear what you are asking" since nodes in the network wont have a consistent view of the mempool, I don't see how this question can lead to a consistent answer. On top of that, nodes can also have different mempool policies for unconfirmed transactions.  
> **username_2**: Not voting for closing. The fact that the question is not answerable is not a reason for closing, it would be IMO better to explain why it is not answerable. It is clear what he is asking, it just cannot be answered reliably.  
> **username_3**: 14 days is the default time for tx to leave the mempool if not confirmed https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/46152/how-do-transactions-leave-the-memory-pool/46153  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2017-10-26. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

This question cannot be answered reliably.

The only part of Bitcoin that is publicly known is the blockchain. The transactions that are confirmed are on the blockchain, that is shared online.

The transaction is "stuck in limbo" - unconfirmed - from the moment it is created to the moment it is in blockchain. However, you cannot tell reliably when it was created.

Each node tracks unconfirmed transactions, and it can track where it saw the transaction first, but it doesn't really mean when it was created.

Blockchain.info shows this as "Received time". You could probably count answer to your question from that, but it wouldn't be reliable.

I can add a personal answer: I run my own node and sometimes look on mempool, what is the oldest transaction there; today, I saw 6 days old transactions in mempool. So, the longest will be surely more than 6 days. But that is just an incomplete, personal observation. :)


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2017-10-26. Score: 2

Bitcoin is about taking proposed changes to a data set (transactions submitted to the blockchain), and having a decentralized network come to consensus on which changes are accepted in which order. You are asking about the *proposed* changes, which by definition means that they are *not* yet agreed upon. As such, nobody can tell you which changes are "in limbo", because we haven't agreed on which ones count. If I run 5 nodes in my basement, and they lost connectivity to the rest of the network, do transactions in their mempool count? What happens when they reconnect?

In Bitcoin, nothing really counts until consensus is reached.


---

