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Why Monero funds are locked for 10 blocks
Every fresh Monero output is unspendable for 10 blocks, roughly twenty minutes. It is the most common reason a new Monero user thinks something is broken when nothing is. The lock is consensus, not policy: no wallet setting, no service, and no fee can shorten it.
What the lock protects
Monero transactions hide the real spent output among decoys drawn from the recent chain. If very fresh outputs could be spent instantly, a chain reorganization could invalidate them and everything built on top. Ten blocks puts spends comfortably behind the depth where reorganizations realistically happen, which protects both your transaction and the privacy of everyone whose outputs serve as decoys.
The surprise: your change is locked too
When you send Monero, your wallet typically pays the recipient and returns the rest to you as change. That change is a brand-new output, so it is locked for 10 blocks like any other. This is why sending one payment can make your remaining balance briefly unspendable. It is not stuck and it does not need support - it unlocks on schedule.
Received, confirmed, spendable: three different moments
A wallet can show funds the moment the transaction is mined, count confirmations as blocks stack on top, and still refuse to spend until block ten. All three displays are correct at once.
- Mined: the transaction is in a block; the balance may already display.
- Confirming: each new block adds one confirmation.
- Spendable: after 10 confirmations, the output can be used.
What this means when you fund an exchange order
If XMR just landed in your wallet, the wallet cannot fund an order until the lock passes, and an order created too early can run into its deposit window while you wait. Check that your funds are actually spendable first, then create the order. If a deposit does arrive after the window, a serious service stops the order for a person to resolve rather than executing at a rate you never accepted.