Block Time

Block Time represents the amount of time it takes to verify and add a new block to a blockchain.

Another way to think about block time is that it’s the amount of time a miner takes to solve the complex hashing problems, which verifies all of the transactions in a given block and adds it to the blockchain.

Different blockchains have different block times configured.

bitcoin (BTC), for example, takes about 10 minutes, while Ethereum (ETH) takes roughly 14 seconds.

Consensus mechanisms, such as Proof-of-work (POW) or Proof-of-stake (POS), play a role in affecting how long it takes to verify transactions and create a new block.

Related Terms

Genesis Block

The very first block or first few blocks recorded on a blockchain or blockchain-based protocol. The genesis block is often called Block 0 or Block 1. The genesis block sets the foundation for the rest of the blocks that are added to form a chain of blocks. That’s where we get the word “blockchain”. The most famous genesis block, and the very first Bitcoin block, called the Genesis Block, was created on January 3rd, 2009, by Bitcoin’s infamous and mysterious creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. Some consider this date to be the start of the cryptocurrency revolution – the start of it all!

Cardano (ADA)

Cardano is a decentralized open-source blockchain platform built with proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus, offering smart contract capabilities, and using the native cryptocurrency ADA.

Solana (SOL)

Solana is a decentralized blockchain platform similar to Ethereum, that is built with a hybrid consensus protocol that includes both delegated proof-of-stake (DPoS) and proof-of-history (PoH) and offers smart contract capabilities.

Validator

Much like miners in a Proof-of-Work(PoW) network, they are network nodes that operate in Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchains, also validating transaction blocks to the blockchain. Validators are generally picked at random, based on the amount of cryptocurrency they are willing to stake or lock up in a smart contract, to win the rights to validation. This is different than the competition-style mechanism like Proof-of-Work (PoW)

Proof Of Staked Authority (PoSA)

Proof of Staked Authority (PoSA) is a combination of Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS) and Proof-of-Authority (PoA) consensus mechanisms. Binance Smart Chain (BSC) relies on Proof-of-Staked Authority.