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Blockchains (L1)

Sonic

# Sonic Block time Methodology

## 1. Overview

Average block time measures the mean time interval between consecutive blocks on the Sonic blockchain, expressed in milliseconds and aggregated daily. This metric indicates the blockchain's block production speed and network performance consistency. The calculation determines the time difference between each block and its immediate predecessor, then averages these intervals across all blocks produced within each calendar day.

## 2. Data sources

- **Sonic blockchain block data**: Raw block records from the Sonic network containing block numbers, timestamps, and base fee information
- **Chain availability metadata**: Data quality and availability periods for the Sonic network used for filtering results

## 3. Step-by-step calculation

### Component A: Block timestamp extraction
- **Purpose**: Extracts block timing data while filtering out anomalous genesis block
- **Logic**: Retrieves `block_timestamp` and `block_number` fields from raw Sonic blockchain block data. Excludes the genesis block by filtering where `block_number` is greater than 0, as genesis blocks are typically timestamped at the start of Unix time and would distort average calculations. For incremental processing, applies lookback logic to ensure data consistency by including blocks from recent days.
- **Key fields**: `block_timestamp` (when the block was mined), `block_number` (sequential block identifier)

### Component B: Sequential timestamp preparation  
- **Purpose**: Pairs each block with its immediate predecessor's timestamp for interval calculation
- **Logic**: Uses window function to retrieve the previous block's timestamp for each block, ordered by ascending block number. This creates pairs of consecutive blocks needed for time interval calculation. Blocks without a previous timestamp (first block in the dataset) are identified.
- **Key fields**: `block_timestamp` (current block time), `previous_timestamp` (preceding block time), `block_number` (for ordering)

### Component C: Block interval calculation
- **Purpose**: Calculates time intervals between consecutive blocks in milliseconds
- **Logic**: Computes the time difference between each block timestamp and its predecessor using timestamp arithmetic. Results are expressed in milliseconds for precision. Truncates block timestamps to daily boundaries for aggregation. Excludes blocks where no previous timestamp exists (first block in sequence).
- **Key fields**: `timestamp` (daily boundary), `block_time` (interval in milliseconds)

### Final aggregation
- **Combining components**: Groups block intervals by truncated daily timestamp and calculates the arithmetic mean of all block intervals within each day
- **Currency conversion**: Not applicable - metric is expressed in milliseconds (time units)
- **Time aggregation**: Daily boundaries determined by truncating block timestamps to day-level granularity, with all blocks mined within a calendar day contributing to that day's average
- **Final calculation**: The daily average block time equals the sum of all individual block intervals within a day divided by the count of intervals, expressed in milliseconds. Metadata fields identify the metric as belonging to Sonic chain within the L1 blockchain sector and blockchain business segment.

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

avg(block_timestamp - previous_block_timestamp)

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Block time

Block time

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