Block Time (in Blockchain)

Block time in a blockchain represents the length of time it took to create a new block on the chain of the related network. It is measured in transactions per second (TPS). Note that a block can be created by mining, burning, staking, or baking, according to the consensus mechanism of the network.

When the necessary action specified in the smart contract is done, the new block is added to the chain. The block time is the interval between these two events. The time to create one block in the blockchain is almost constant for every new block.

Two Types of Block Time: Expected vs. Average

• Expected block time
• Average block time

In Ethereum, the expected block time is the value set as the constant for security reasons. The security concern comes because increased computing power may cause an issue in the network’s security. Then Ethereum platform compares the expected block time with the average block time. If the average block time is higher, the platform decreases the difficulty of mining Ethereum. In contrast, the difficulty will increase if the average block time is lower than the expected block time.

Bitcoin vs. Ethereum Block Time: Which One is Faster?

Bitcoin has 10 minutes average block time. Compared to Ethereum, which takes approximately an average of 14 seconds, it is really slow.

The block time of each cryptocurrency is unique. In addition, there are elements that affect the block time. Here they are:

• Hash difficulty: Since the mining difficulty of a cryptocurrency usually depends on the difficulty of the hash, the hash difficulty directly affects the block time of that particular cryptocurrency. It will be more difficult to mine one bitcoin when the halving occurs. Therefore the block time will be longer in every halving process.
• Block size: The block size in the blockchain network is critical for the length of the block time. The increasing size of the block lowers the block time. However, it can obstruct the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies. This is because the increased block sizes will be separated to fewer miners.

In order to increase the speed of block creation, blockchain developers try to change these factors with forks. You can get a deeper understanding by examining our Blockchain Forks content.