Different networks reach finality differently — Bitcoin probabilistically through accumulated work, others through validator consensus — but the practical outcome is the same: past a certain point, the transfer stands.
Finality is the single most important fact for anyone who has just been defrauded. The money can be followed and, in some cases, reached through the service now holding it. It cannot be un-sent.
Related terms
Confirmation
A block added on top of the block containing your transaction; more confirmations mean less chance of reversal.
Irreversibility
The property that a confirmed transfer cannot be undone by the sender, the network or any authority.
Exchange
A business that converts between cryptocurrencies and traditional currency and holds customer balances.
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