You confirm a send, and a few seconds later it's done. Here's what actually happens in between — because seeing the mechanics is more convincing than being told "it's safe."
1. You confirm, and Enta builds the transaction
Nothing moves until you confirm. When you do, Enta prepares the transaction for the network your asset lives on: the amount, the destination address, and the network it will settle on — all of which you see on screen before you commit.
On a business account there can be a step before this one: if the payment falls under an approval rule, it waits for the required approvals first. See Approval rules: how business payments get authorised.
2. The transaction gets broadcast to the network
Once prepared, the transaction is sent to the blockchain your asset lives on — not into a private database on our servers. This is the part people miss: Enta doesn't keep a private ledger of "who owes who". Your balance and every transfer are recorded on a public network.
Enta's role at this point is closer to a courier than a bank teller — it hands your instruction to the network and waits for a response.
3. The network confirms it — and this is where speed depends on the network
Different networks confirm transactions at different speeds, and Enta shows you which apply before you send:
Spark, and most EVM networks (Arbitrum, Base, Celo, Optimism, Plasma, Polygon) — confirmation is near-instant, and they're labelled "Free to send".
Ethereum — still fast, but gas fees apply because of how that specific network prices space on its ledger.
The main Bitcoin network — deliberately slower, and it carries a network fee. It trades speed for being the most battle-tested, most widely supported route in existence.
None of this is Enta being fast or slow — it's the underlying network. Enta shows you the real trade-off up front rather than hiding it behind a spinner.
4. Your balance updates once the network says so — not before
Enta doesn't guess or pre-credit a transfer. Your balance changes when the network itself confirms the transaction is final. That's a deliberate choice: it means what you see always matches what's actually true on the ledger, even if it occasionally means waiting a few extra seconds for a slower network.
Why this is worth knowing
A payment that has already settled doesn't depend on our systems staying up — see Is my money safe if Enta's systems go down?
You don't have to take our word for what happened — the record is public, and every transaction has a View On-Chain option that opens it in a public block explorer. (See How to verify your own transaction without trusting our app.)
The one thing that actually varies is which network you're on — see Tron vs Solana vs EVM — which network should you actually pick?
Still have questions? Message us in the chat — we're happy to help.