# Flow Block time Methodology

## 1. Overview

Block time is measured as the average duration required for a new block to be added to Flow. The speed at which the network processes transactions and updates its state is reflected by this metric. Average values are calculated on a daily basis to provide insight into the operational efficiency and temporal consistency of the blockchain.

## 2. Data sources

- **Blockchain events**: Block metadata from Flow

## 3. Step-by-step calculation

### Component A: Block data extraction

- **Purpose**: Retrieve the necessary temporal and sequence data for every block on the network.
- **Logic**: Block timestamps and block heights are extracted from the Flow block records. The genesis block is explicitly excluded from the dataset to ensure the calculations are based on valid intervals between consecutive blocks.
- **Key fields**: `block_timestamp` (timing) and `block_number` (sequence)

### Component B: Block interval calculation

- **Purpose**: Determine the elapsed time between successive blocks.
- **Logic**: The difference between the `block_timestamp` of a current block and the `block_timestamp` of the immediately preceding block is calculated. This duration is measured in milliseconds to ensure high-precision tracking of network latency.

### Component C: Daily aggregation

- **Purpose**: Calculate a representative average block time for each 24-hour period.
- **Logic**: All individual block intervals recorded within a UTC day are aggregated. An arithmetic mean is applied to these intervals to determine the average block time for that day. The results are finalized through a validation layer that ensures schema consistency and filters for data availability.

*This methodology was automatically generated by Token Terminal's methodology analyzer.*

avg(block_timestamp - previous_block_timestamp)

Block time

Blockchains (L1)

Validators process transactions and receive fees from users (supply-side fees).

Flow is a smart contract platform for decentralized applications (a blockchain). Flow was founded by Roham Gharegozlou, Dieter Shirley and Mikhael Naayem and launched in 2019.

FLOW holders own and govern the protocol. They currently don’t take a cut of the total transaction fees paid by users (revenue). Flow’s investors include a16z, Coatue, Coinfund, Fabric Ventures, etc.

Flow

Block time

Block time

Chain breakdown