# Polkadot Relay Chain Block time Methodology

## 1. Overview

Block time is measured as the average time required for a new block to be added to the blockchain. It reflects the speed at which the network processes transactions and updates its state. This metric is a key indicator of the performance and latency of the Polkadot Relay Chain.

## 2. Data sources

- **Blockchain events**: Block timestamps and sequence numbers from the Polkadot Relay Chain
- **External data**: None; this metric is calculated entirely from on-chain block metadata

## 3. Step-by-step calculation

### Component A: Block metadata extraction

- **Purpose**: Retrieve the fundamental temporal and sequence data for the blockchain.
- **Logic**: Block numbers and their corresponding timestamps are extracted from the Polkadot Relay Chain. The genesis block (block number 0) is specifically excluded from the dataset to prevent calculation errors associated with the start of the Unix epoch.
- **Key fields**: `block_timestamp` and `block_number`.

### Component B: Block interval calculation

- **Purpose**: Determine the duration between consecutive blocks.
- **Logic**: Blocks are ordered by block number in ascending order. The time difference between the current block timestamp and the preceding block timestamp is calculated in milliseconds for every sequential block pair.
- **Key fields**: `block_timestamp` and the lagged `previous_timestamp`.

### Component C: Daily aggregation and normalization

- **Purpose**: Summarize high-frequency block intervals into a standardized daily metric.
- **Logic**: Individual block intervals are truncated to a daily grain using UTC boundaries. An average of all calculated intervals is performed for each day. The resulting values are normalized and assigned to the Polkadot Relay Chain product identifier.
- **Key fields**: `timestamp` (daily) and `block_time` (average milliseconds).

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

avg(block_timestamp - previous_block_timestamp)

Block time

Blockchains (L1)

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

Polkadot is a security & interoperability platform for blockchains and applications. Polkadot was founded by Gavin Wood and launched in 2020.

DOT holders own and govern the protocol. They currently take a cut of the total transaction fees paid by users (revenue). Polkadot’s investors include Polychain, IOSG Ventures, Hashkey, etc.

Polkadot Relay Chain

Block time

Block time

Chain breakdown