Transaction
A signed instruction that moves bitcoin from your addresses to someone else's.
In plain words
A transaction spends chunks of bitcoin you received and creates new chunks for whoever you pay. Your signature authorizes it — no signature, no spend. Not a bank's approval. Yours. Leftover value returns to you as change; the small difference you leave behind pays the miner. Then it waits in the mempool until a miner seals it into a block.
Why it matters
- Signatures move money — not permission, not paperwork.
- Every transaction ever made is public and checkable by anyone.
- You set the fee: pay more to go faster, less to wait.
Not to be confused with
- Account transfer — Bitcoin has no accounts or balances, just spendable chunks (UTXOs) that your keys unlock.
Go deeper
Updated 2026-07-29