Understanding Ethereum Block Propagation Latency: A Deep Dive into Bitcoin
As one of the pioneers of the cryptocurrency space, Ethereum has set the bar high for scalability and performance. How long does it take for newly created blocks to propagate across the Bitcoin network? In this article, we’ll look at the causes of the latency, its average value, and what it reveals about the underlying infrastructure.
Basics: Blockchain Propagation
When a new block is created on the Ethereum blockchain, it must be propagated to all nodes in the network. This process involves several steps:
- Confirmation
: The newly created block is verified by the network nodes using complex mathematical algorithms.
- Transaction Sorting: The verified block is then sorted into individual transactions.
- Block Creation
: A new block is created containing the sorted transactions.
Why does propagation take time?
Propagation latency can be attributed to several factors:
- Network latency: As more nodes verify and add blocks to the chain, network latency increases. This slows down the propagation process.
- Block size limit: Ethereum has a block size limit of 1 MB, which means that longer blocks take longer.
- Transaction complexity: More complex transactions require additional calculations, which increases the transmission time.
Average transmission latency
Estimates vary depending on the source and network conditions. However, according to various reports and studies:
- The average propagation latency for newly created Ethereum blocks is around 4-6 minutes.
- Bitcoin propagation latency is typically faster, ranging from 1 to 3 seconds.
Why do we see such long delays?
There are several factors that contribute to this delay:
- Network congestion: As the number of nodes connecting to the network increases, the traffic increases, which slows down the transfer time.
- Operation complexity: More complex operations require additional calculations, which slows down the process.
- Network latency: The longer it takes for a block to be confirmed and added to the chain, the higher the overall latency.
Application
Ethereum’s block propagation latency is an important aspect of its decentralized architecture. While this latency may seem significant, it is important to understand its causes and the impact on the network. As the cryptocurrency space progresses, we can expect scaling and performance to improve, resulting in faster propagation.
Sources:
- Ethereum 2.0 (2020) – The Ethereum Foundation
- Bitcoin Block Propagation Time (2020) – CoinMarketCap.
- Blockchain Propagation Delay (2019) – CryptoSlate.