Glossary
Block Time
15/04/2026
Block time is the average amount of time it takes for the network to mine a new block and add it to the blockchain. It is one of the fundamental parameters of any Proof of Work network and directly affects confirmation speed and mining economics.
Block times by network
| Network | Block time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin (BTC) | ~10 minutes | Target since 2009 |
| Litecoin (LTC) | ~2.5 minutes | 4× faster than BTC |
| Kaspa (KAS) | ~1 second | BlockDAG, multiple blocks/sec |
| Monero (XMR) | ~2 minutes | |
| Alephium (ALPH) | ~64 seconds | Sharded BlockDAG |
| Ergo (ERG) | ~2 minutes |
Difficulty adjustment
Networks use automatic difficulty adjustment to keep block times stable. If miners join the network and blocks come faster than the target, the difficulty increases. If miners leave and blocks slow down, difficulty drops.
- Bitcoin adjusts every 2,016 blocks (~2 weeks)
- Kaspa adjusts every block (near-instant adjustment)
- Monero adjusts every block
Why block time matters for mining
- Payout frequency — shorter block times mean the pool finds blocks more often, though each block's reward is proportionally smaller
- Orphan risk — very fast block times increase the chance of two miners finding a block simultaneously; one becomes an orphan and earns nothing (this is why BlockDAG architectures were developed)
- Confirmation speed — faster block times mean transactions confirm sooner
