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What is Block Time?

Updated May 3, 2024

What is Block Time?

Block time is the time it takes for a blockchain to produce a new block.

After a block is successfully produced, it appears on the ledger and extends the blockchain.

Block time determines the speed of transaction confirmation, and thus influences the transactions per second (TPS) rate.

Why Do Different Blockchains Have Different Block Times?

In the world of blockchains, there is a concept of consensus mechanisms. Consensus mechanisms allow a group of participants to agree on whether a given transaction is valid or not. Different blockchains utilize different consensus mechanisms, which impacts the time it takes to verify each transaction and create each block.

Block time differs for every blockchain. Some allow faster block times than others. Depending on the blockchain, a new block can be mined in a matter of seconds, or it can take a few minutes.

At Chainspect, we track block times for all our blockchains and show it on the dashboard and individual chain pages. For example, here is the Ethereum chain page.

Ethereum Block Time is 12.2s

Block time is a dynamic metric, so check it regularly to get the full picture.

The following metrics are relevant on Apr 3, 2024. For real-time metrics just click on your favorite blockchain to open its chain page or go to the dashboard.

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