Bitcoin's 10-Minute Block Target Withstands the Test of Time Despite Occasional Long Blocks
-
Bitcoin aims for 10-minute block times on average, but hour-long blocks occur a few times per year, which often draws media attention
-
Probability explains why longer blocks happen more often than people expect
-
Very long blocks like 6 days or blocks with inaccurate timestamps have occurred, likely due to human error
-
Over 12+ years, the 10-minute average has held up well, with most deviations self-correcting
-
Changes like China's mining ban caused more sustained impacts, but difficulty adjustments restored the 10-minute target