I noticed that ckBTC on the Internet Computer requires 12 Bitcoin confirmations for transactions, while most bridging solutions in the blockchain industry accept 6 confirmations as the standard for finality. For example, Stacks’ sBTC bridge currently processes Bitcoin deposits with just 6 confirmations, which aligns with what is widely accepted across the industry.
Is there something specific about the Internet Computer or its integration with Bitcoin that necessitates this higher number of confirmations? For instance, does it relate to the architecture of the chain-key technology, additional security considerations, or the way ICP handles Bitcoin transactions?
I’d appreciate it if someone could provide any insights?
12 confirmations are necessary because the ckBTC minter must be extremely certain that the BTC deposit transaction did happen. It is meant to uphold a high standard of security.
I think it was lowered to 6 confirmations recently based on the industry standard you are talking about ckBTC API reference | Internet Computer. Perhaps you seen seem outdated document, as I think it was 12 previously.
A cool dApp idea could be to offer near instant conversions (the dApp or other users put up the collateral and earn a premium for the risk). It could require only 1 or 2 confirmations - which in practice can be quite secure, invalidated transactions / orphaned blocks after 3 confirmations are extremely rare, in fact I couldn’t find an example of where it has happened from searching around. Users can pay an extra fee for a BTC → ckBTC conversion after 1-2 confirmations. Im sure there is some risk / things to figure out here, but I hope someone builds cool DeFi onramps like this.
Okay, I saw 12 confirmations on Plug Wallet, so I assumed that was the correct information. I think it’s still there, but definitely six confirmations are much better.
Indeed, ckBTC currently requires 6 confirmations, this was reduced in proposal 130096. You can always see the correct min confirmations on the ckBTC minter dashboard.