---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Bitcoin reaches consensus every 10…"
description: "\"“Bitcoin reaches consensus every 10 minutes about the state of the ledger as it existed in the past.”\" — Andreas M. Antonopoulos"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/andreas-m-antonopoulos-25953_consensus_bitcoin-reaches-consensus-every-10-minut_773330.jpg"
---

#  Bitcoin reaches consensus every 10 minutes about the state…

![“Bitcoin reaches consensus every 10 minutes about the state of the ledger as it existed in the past.” quote by Andreas M. Antonopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/andreas-m-antonopoulos-25953_consensus_bitcoin-reaches-consensus-every-10-minut_773330.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/andreas-m-antonopoulos-25953_consensus_bitcoin-reaches-consensus-every-10-minut_773330.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/andreas-m-antonopoulos-25953_consensus_bitcoin-reaches-consensus-every-10-minut_773330.jpg)

> ““Bitcoin reaches consensus every 10 minutes about the state of the ledger as it existed in the past.””

[Andreas M. Antonopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-m-antonopoulos/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Bitcoin updates its ledger state every ten minutes, reflecting the past consensus.

**In simple terms:** Bitcoin confirms past state every 10 minutes.

Key Takeaway

Understand Bitcoin’s consensus timing.

Themes

technology consensus blockchain time cryptocurrency

Mood

technical informative

Type

educational explanatory

When to use this quote

- financial transactions
- software development
- data integrity
- educational seminars

Key Concepts

distributed ledger decentralization

Questions to Reflect On

- How does 10‑minute consensus impact user experience?
- What alternatives could speed up finality?

A Different Perspective

Consensus delay can affect transaction speed.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Consensus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consensus/) [Currency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/currency/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [The virtues of the blockchain is that it would be that it's peer-to-peer settlement - no centralized settlement, no manipulation... And most importantly, there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-m-byrne/the-virtues-of-the-blockchain-is-that-it-would-be-that-it-s-peer-to/)

[Patrick M. Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-m-byrne/)

> [“Deterministic, or “seeded,” wallets are wallets that contain private keys that are all derived from a common seed, through the use of a one-way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-m-antonopoulos/deterministic-or-seeded-wallets-are-wallets-that-contain-private-keys/)

[Andreas M. Antonopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-m-antonopoulos/)

> [“Although the Bitcoin Core client includes a Type-0 wallet, using this wallet is discouraged by developers of Bitcoin Core.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-m-antonopoulos/although-the-bitcoin-core-client-includes-a-type-0-wallet-using-this/)

[Andreas M. Antonopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-m-antonopoulos/)

> [“Fortunately, bitcoin also creates the incentives to improve computer security. Whereas previously the risk of computer compromise was vague and indirect, bitcoin makes these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-m-antonopoulos/fortunately-bitcoin-also-creates-the-incentives-to-improve-computer/)

[Andreas M. Antonopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-m-antonopoulos/)

> [“The concept of a balance is created by the wallet application. The wallet calculates the user’s balance by scanning the blockchain and aggregating the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-m-antonopoulos/the-concept-of-a-balance-is-created-by-the-wallet-application-the/)

[Andreas M. Antonopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-m-antonopoulos/)

> [“Transaction fees are calculated based on the size of the transaction in kilobytes, not the value of the transaction in bitcoin. Overall,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-m-antonopoulos/transaction-fees-are-calculated-based-on-the-size-of-the-transaction/)

[Andreas M. Antonopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-m-antonopoulos/)

> [The culturally, linguistically and religiously diverse population of Indian and Pakistani-administered Jammu and Kashmir has been unable to reach a consensus on the future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nyla-ali-khan/the-culturally-linguistically-and-religiously-diverse-population-of/)

[Nyla Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nyla-ali-khan/)

> [Those who know that the consensus of many centuries has sanctioned the conception that the earth remains at rest in the middle of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/those-who-know-that-the-consensus-of-many-centuries-has-sanctioned/)

[Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/)

> [Effectively, change is almost impossible without industry-wide collaboration, cooperation and consensus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mainwaring/effectively-change-is-almost-impossible-without-industry-wide/)

[Simon Mainwaring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mainwaring/)

> [People of good character are not all going to come down on the same side of difficult political and social issues. Good people-people of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bennett/people-of-good-character-are-not-all-going-to-come-down-on-the-same/)

[William Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bennett/)

> [The scientific consensus is that climate change is real, urgent, and caused by humans. This science should be both supported and understood by anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-schatz/the-scientific-consensus-is-that-climate-change-is-real-urgent-and/)

[Brian Schatz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-schatz/)

> [The vision of extraordinary achievement is,by definition, a few steps beyond consensus and conventional logic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-belsky/the-vision-of-extraordinary-achievement-is-by-definition-a-few-steps/)

[Scott Belsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-belsky/)

> [As a leader... I have always endeavored to listen to what each and every person in a discussion had to say before venturing my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/as-a-leader-i-have-always-endeavored-to-listen-to-what-each-and-every/)

[Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/)

> [The "family" has clearly emerged anew in the late 1970s as a central subject for discussion, debate, research and writing in bothscholarly and popular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-kamerman/the-family-has-clearly-emerged-anew-in-the-late-1970s-as-a-central/)

Sheila Kamerman

> [There are dangers in consensus: it could be an attempt to satisfy people holding no particular views about anything. ... No great party can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/there-are-dangers-in-consensus-it-could-be-an-attempt-to-satisfy/)

[Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/)

## More by Andreas M. Antonopoulos

> [“Six and a half billion people on this planet have no connection to the world of money. They operate in cash-based societies with very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-m-antonopoulos/six-and-a-half-billion-people-on-this-planet-have-no-connection-to/)

[Andreas M. Antonopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-m-antonopoulos/)

> [“Transaction fees are calculated based on the size of the transaction in kilobytes, not the value of the transaction in bitcoin. Overall,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-m-antonopoulos/transaction-fees-are-calculated-based-on-the-size-of-the-transaction/)

[Andreas M. Antonopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-m-antonopoulos/)

> [“As the adage of the entire internet once went, “I just replaced your entire industry with 100 lines of Python code,” that’s exactly what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-m-antonopoulos/as-the-adage-of-the-entire-internet-once-went-i-just-replaced-your/)

[Andreas M. Antonopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-m-antonopoulos/)

> [“The concept of a balance is created by the wallet application. The wallet calculates the user’s balance by scanning the blockchain and aggregating the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-m-antonopoulos/the-concept-of-a-balance-is-created-by-the-wallet-application-the/)

[Andreas M. Antonopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-m-antonopoulos/)

> [“Fortunately, bitcoin also creates the incentives to improve computer security. Whereas previously the risk of computer compromise was vague and indirect, bitcoin makes these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-m-antonopoulos/fortunately-bitcoin-also-creates-the-incentives-to-improve-computer/)

[Andreas M. Antonopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-m-antonopoulos/)

> [“If an UTXO is larger than the desired value of a transaction, it must still be consumed in its entirety and change must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-m-antonopoulos/if-an-utxo-is-larger-than-the-desired-value-of-a-transaction-it-must/)

[Andreas M. Antonopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-m-antonopoulos/)

> [“Although the Bitcoin Core client includes a Type-0 wallet, using this wallet is discouraged by developers of Bitcoin Core.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-m-antonopoulos/although-the-bitcoin-core-client-includes-a-type-0-wallet-using-this/)

[Andreas M. Antonopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-m-antonopoulos/)

> [“Deterministic, or “seeded,” wallets are wallets that contain private keys that are all derived from a common seed, through the use of a one-way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-m-antonopoulos/deterministic-or-seeded-wallets-are-wallets-that-contain-private-keys/)

[Andreas M. Antonopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-m-antonopoulos/)

> [“As a best practice, the level-1 children of the master keys are always derived through the hardened derivation, to prevent compromise of the master…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-m-antonopoulos/as-a-best-practice-the-level-1-children-of-the-master-keys-are-always/)

[Andreas M. Antonopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-m-antonopoulos/)

> [“the bitcoin network. Bitcoin users communicate with each other using the bitcoin protocol primarily via the internet, although other transport networks can also be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-m-antonopoulos/the-bitcoin-network-bitcoin-users-communicate-with-each-other-using/)

[Andreas M. Antonopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-m-antonopoulos/)

> [“This isn’t about nation-states anymore. This isn’t about who adopts bitcoin first or who adopts cryptocurrencies first, because the internet is adopting cryptocurrencies, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-m-antonopoulos/this-isn-t-about-nation-states-anymore-this-isn-t-about-who-adopts/)

[Andreas M. Antonopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-m-antonopoulos/)

> [“From now on, if you see a multisig unlocking script, you should expect to see an extra 0 in the beginning, whose only purpose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-m-antonopoulos/from-now-on-if-you-see-a-multisig-unlocking-script-you-should-expect/)

[Andreas M. Antonopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-m-antonopoulos/)

> [“There are a billion people, right now, with access to the internet and feature phones who could use bitcoin as an international wire-transfer service.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-m-antonopoulos/there-are-a-billion-people-right-now-with-access-to-the-internet-and/)

[Andreas M. Antonopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-m-antonopoulos/)

> [“BIP-39 was proposed by the company behind the Trezor hardware wallet and is incompatible with Electrum’s implementation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-m-antonopoulos/bip-39-was-proposed-by-the-company-behind-the-trezor-hardware-wallet/)

[Andreas M. Antonopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-m-antonopoulos/)

> [“Bitcoin consists of: A decentralized peer-to-peer network (the bitcoin protocol) A public transaction ledger (the blockchain) A set of rules for independent transaction validation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-m-antonopoulos/bitcoin-consists-of-a-decentralized-peer-to-peer-network-the-bitcoin/)

[Andreas M. Antonopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-m-antonopoulos/)

[Explore all 22 Andreas M. Antonopoulos quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-m-antonopoulos/)

## More Consensus quotes

> [There are dangers in consensus: it could be an attempt to satisfy people holding no particular views about anything. ... No great party can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/there-are-dangers-in-consensus-it-could-be-an-attempt-to-satisfy/)

[Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/)

> [The "family" has clearly emerged anew in the late 1970s as a central subject for discussion, debate, research and writing in bothscholarly and popular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-kamerman/the-family-has-clearly-emerged-anew-in-the-late-1970s-as-a-central/)

Sheila Kamerman

> [As a leader... I have always endeavored to listen to what each and every person in a discussion had to say before venturing my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/as-a-leader-i-have-always-endeavored-to-listen-to-what-each-and-every/)

[Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/)

> [The vision of extraordinary achievement is,by definition, a few steps beyond consensus and conventional logic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-belsky/the-vision-of-extraordinary-achievement-is-by-definition-a-few-steps/)

[Scott Belsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-belsky/)

> [The scientific consensus is that climate change is real, urgent, and caused by humans. This science should be both supported and understood by anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-schatz/the-scientific-consensus-is-that-climate-change-is-real-urgent-and/)

[Brian Schatz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-schatz/)

> [People of good character are not all going to come down on the same side of difficult political and social issues. Good people-people of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bennett/people-of-good-character-are-not-all-going-to-come-down-on-the-same/)

[William Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bennett/)

> [Effectively, change is almost impossible without industry-wide collaboration, cooperation and consensus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mainwaring/effectively-change-is-almost-impossible-without-industry-wide/)

[Simon Mainwaring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mainwaring/)

> [Those who know that the consensus of many centuries has sanctioned the conception that the earth remains at rest in the middle of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolaus-copernicus/those-who-know-that-the-consensus-of-many-centuries-has-sanctioned/)

[Nicolaus Copernicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolaus-copernicus/)

> [The culturally, linguistically and religiously diverse population of Indian and Pakistani-administered Jammu and Kashmir has been unable to reach a consensus on the future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nyla-ali-khan/the-culturally-linguistically-and-religiously-diverse-population-of/)

[Nyla Ali Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nyla-ali-khan/)

> [We are in a crisis today because the practical consensus between the left and the right, linking economic efficiency with social protection, has broken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-glucksmann/we-are-in-a-crisis-today-because-the-practical-consensus-between-the/)

Andre Glucksmann

> [That tertiary education is under a sustained assault by a political and - it often seems - social consensus that equates all education with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/that-tertiary-education-is-under-a-sustained-assault-by-a-political/)

[Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/)

> [Our normal expectations about reality are created by a social consensus. We are taught how to see and understand the world. The trick of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/our-normal-expectations-about-reality-are-created-by-a-social/)

[Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/)

> [I always worked as an individual artist even when Group Material asked me to join the group. There are certain things that I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-gonzalez-torres/i-always-worked-as-an-individual-artist-even-when-group-material/)

Felix Gonzalez-Torres

> [“But perhaps the greatest threat is that we lack the mechanism of consensus, a way of making up our collective minds.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-k-greenleaf/but-perhaps-the-greatest-threat-is-that-we-lack-the-mechanism-of/)

[Robert K. Greenleaf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-k-greenleaf/)

> [There's a growing consensus that the best way to defeat communism in Cuba is to get its citizens hooked on American goods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-noah/there-s-a-growing-consensus-that-the-best-way-to-defeat-communism-in/)

[Timothy Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-noah/)

[Browse all 564 Consensus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consensus/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Bitcoin reaches consensus every 10 minutes about the state of the ledger as it existed in the past.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Andreas M. Antonopoulos"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-m-antonopoulos/bitcoin-reaches-consensus-every-10-minutes-about-the-state-of-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Consensus"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-m-antonopoulos/bitcoin-reaches-consensus-every-10-minutes-about-the-state-of-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/andreas-m-antonopoulos-25953_consensus_bitcoin-reaches-consensus-every-10-minut_773330.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/andreas-m-antonopoulos-25953_consensus_bitcoin-reaches-consensus-every-10-minut_773330.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/andreas-m-antonopoulos-25953_consensus_bitcoin-reaches-consensus-every-10-minut_773330.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Bitcoin reaches consensus every 10 minutes about the state of the ledger as it existed in the past.” — Andreas M. Antonopoulos",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Andreas M. Antonopoulos",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-m-antonopoulos/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Bitcoin reaches consensus every 10 minutes...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-m-antonopoulos/bitcoin-reaches-consensus-every-10-minutes-about-the-state-of-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-m-antonopoulos/bitcoin-reaches-consensus-every-10-minutes-about-the-state-of-the/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
