Understanding Block Time

Categories: EducationalPublished On: October 17th, 20181.7 min read

A short intro to the concept of block time.

What is a block?

If you haven’t read our previous article titled, Understanding Blocks, you should check it out first in order to facilitate the understanding of this complimentary article.

A Brief Overview

Simply put, a block is where transaction data is stored in a blockchain. Each block has a hash that is unique only to that block. This hash serves as an identifier and verifier for the information contained within that block so that each block can be completed and further built upon. This same process repeats itself ad-infinitum.

Block Time

Block time can be defined as, the average amount of time it takes for the hashing (computational) power of the network (nodes) to find a solution to the current hash and create a new block. It is simply the time in-between the generation of each new block, which is determined by the blockchain’s protocol.

The block time is determined by a number of factors like; the computing power (hash rate) of the network and the complexity of the hash being solved.

The block time for Bitcoin is currently around 10 minutes, whereas the block time for Ethereum is a mere 10–15 seconds. Digibyte is comparable with 15 second block time.

Once any given block has reached completion, the information contained within the block becomes verified and deemed trustworthy, allowing for the next block to be built on top of it.

The block time can also be seen as the time that it takes for a transaction to process on that given blockchain protocol. In essence, the faster the block time, the faster the transactions on that blockchain.

-Edward Siafa

— — — — —

Subscribe!
Want the latest news and updates? Join our Announcement Channel on Telegram!

Follow us on social media:
Website | Twitter | Linkedin | Facebook | Updates & Announcements

Legal: legal@stably.io
Press: marketing@stably.io
Exchanges or Market Makers: exchanges@stably.io
Partnerships: enterprise@stably.io
Investors: Kory Hoang, CEO — kory@stably.io

View Disclaimer

Join our Community

Want to chat? Have a question?
Join our Discord community.

Join Discord Community

Logo_White_Retina

Follow us

For Individuals

For Partners

Stablecoins

Company

Follow us

© Stably Corporation

DISCLAIMER: Stably Corporation (“Stably”) is a blockchain and financial technology service provider, not a bank, with a registered address at 16192 Coastal Hwy, Lewes, DE 19958, USA. Stably Trading LLC (“ST”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Stably, is a FinCEN-registered money service business (MSB) with registration number 31000219855769 and a registered address at 10 E Pearl Ave Suite 200, Jackson, WY 83001, USA. Stably provides technology and services to ST and Prime Trust LLC (“PT”), a state-chartered trust company and SEC-qualified custodian with license number TR10035 and a registered address at 330 S Rampart Blvd Suite 260, Las Vegas, NV 89145, USA. PT utilizes Fireblocks LLC (“Fireblocks”), an institutional wallet provider, to provide digital asset custody support. Fireblocks is a FinCEN-registered MSB with registration number 31000187180862 and a registered address at 221 River St, 9th Floor, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA.

Blockchain-connected products and services offered by Stably and ST (or offered by others through Stably’s or ST’s white-label solutions) are built on top of PT’s infrastructure via manual and automated integrations, leveraging its financial services including (but not limited to) traditional and digital asset custody, trading, payments, escrow, trustee, convertible virtual currency (CVC) administration—as defined by FIN-2013-G001—plus Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and anti-money laundering (AML) compliance services. PT is not an FDIC-insured institution but it works with FDIC-insured custodian banks to hold US Dollar (USD). Digital assets held by PT with Fireblocks are not FDIC-insured.

Stably Prime and Stably Ramp are self-directed custodial accounts (“Stably Accounts”) that enable the BSA/AML-verified account holder (“Stably User”) to custody assets, deposit or disburse funds, buy or sell digital assets, and mint or redeem stablecoins and bridged tokens. Custody support for Stably Accounts (provided by PT) includes both USD and digital assets. Only Stably Users who are verified by PT, Stably, and ST for compliance with its terms and policies are allowed to deposit or disburse, mint or redeem, and buy or sell funds and assets in Stably Accounts. Disbursements from Stably Accounts to third parties are permitted but third-party deposits into Stably Accounts are prohibited.

Stably USD (also known as “Stably Dollar” or “USDS”) is a multi-blockchain US Dollar stablecoin backed with USD held in a trust (“USDS Trust”) managed by PT for the benefit of BSA/AML-verified holders of USDS and other USDS white-label tokens (“USDS Holders”). PT is the USDS Trust’s regulated trustee. PT is also the regulated CVC administrator of USDS and other USDS white-label tokens collateralized by the USDS Trust. PT may only place trust funds with FDIC-insured banks as cash or in short-term US Treasury instruments. USDS and USDS white-label tokens are not FDIC-insured. Every USDS or USDS white-label token may be minted or redeemed 1-to-1 with USD according to Stably’s terms of service, minus fees, through a Stably Account.

Stably BTC (also known as “Stably Bitcoin” or “BTCS”) is a multi-blockchain Bitcoin (BTC) bridged token backed with BTC held in a collateral account managed by PT for the benefit of BSA/AML-verified holders of BTCS and other BTCS white-label tokens (“BTCS Holders”). ST is the regulated CVC administrator of BTCS and other BTCS white-label tokens backed by the collateral account. Every BTCS or BTCS white-label token may be minted or redeemed 1-to-1 with BTC according to ST’s terms of service, minus fees, through a Stably Account.

Stably ETH (also known as “Stably Ether” or “ETHS”) is a multi-blockchain Ether (ETH) bridged token backed with ETH held in a collateral account managed by PT for the benefit of BSA/AML-verified holders of ETHS and other ETHS white-label tokens (“ETHS Holders”). ST is the regulated CVC administrator of ETHS and other ETHS white-label tokens backed by the collateral account. Every ETHS or ETHS white-label token may be minted or redeemed 1-to-1 with ETH according to ST’s terms of service, minus fees, through a Stably Account.

PT, Stably, and ST reserve the right to deny, suspend or terminate anyone’s usage of Stably Accounts, USDS, BTCS, ETHS, and other white-label products, if either PT, Stably or ST deems it advisable or necessary to comply with applicable laws or to eliminate practices that are not consistent with laws, rules, regulations, or best practices.

Nothing contained herein shall be considered financial advice or recommendation to buy or sell any security, commodity, cryptocurrency, digital asset, or any other financial instrument or asset. Cryptocurrencies, digital assets, and investing have many risks, including risk of losses beyond principal investment or purchase amount. Past performance is not indicative of future results. You should be aware of all the risks associated with cryptocurrency and digital asset investing, purchasing, and transacting and seek advice from an independent licensed financial advisor.