<p>Yes, you can even spend from transactions which have 0 confirmations (not included in a block yet) if you are willing to. That is the basis for things such as child-pays-for-parent. While it is reasonably low risk to spend from unconfirmed transactions if they are low-value, it is recommended you wait for a few confirmations for larger transactions, because before they are confirmed there is still a risk of a double-spent transaction being included in a block instead, and even after one or two confirmations it is theoretically possible (although very unlikely) for a competing fork to overtake that chain and replace the transaction. See this question for more info about why 6 confirmations is recommended for good safety: <a href="https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/1170/why-is-6-the-number-of-confirms-that-is-considered-secure">Why is 6 the number of confirms that is considered secure?</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-05T11:03:16.460Z
2017-12-05T11:03:16.460Z
meshcollider
<p>When I got a transaction (someone transfer some bitcoins to me), can I use it before the transaction has 6 confirmations?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-06T06:52:26.280Z
Not an exact duplicate; that answers why the number 6, not whether you can use it before.
Pieter Wuille
<unconfirmed-transactions>
Can I spend a tx before it has 6 confirmations?
skykingit
# Can I spend a tx before it has 6 confirmations?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-12-05)

When I got a transaction (someone transfer some bitcoins to me), can I use it before the transaction has 6 confirmations?

**Tags:** unconfirmed-transactions

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Not an exact duplicate; that answers why the number 6, not whether you can use it before.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2017-12-05. Score: 1

Yes, you can even spend from transactions which have 0 confirmations (not included in a block yet) if you are willing to. That is the basis for things such as child-pays-for-parent. While it is reasonably low risk to spend from unconfirmed transactions if they are low-value, it is recommended you wait for a few confirmations for larger transactions, because before they are confirmed there is still a risk of a double-spent transaction being included in a block instead, and even after one or two confirmations it is theoretically possible (although very unlikely) for a competing fork to overtake that chain and replace the transaction. See this question for more info about why 6 confirmations is recommended for good safety: [Why is 6 the number of confirms that is considered secure?](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/1170/why-is-6-the-number-of-confirms-that-is-considered-secure)


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