Block Height

What is Block Height?

From the genesis block (or block zero) to the most recent block, the number of blocks that have been confirmed throughout the history of a given blockchain network is known as the block height. Each subsequent block in the series contains a hash (reference) to the block that before it, and the block height is equal to the number of blocks in that sequence. As a result, the genesis block has a block height of 0 while the first block mined has a block height of 1.

Because blockchains are built up of blocks, it's common to imagine them as a stack of legos while discussing them. In contrast to Jenga, where one block may be slipped out without affecting the others, there is no way to remove a lego from the middle of the stack without endangering the entire structure.

Since the blockchain was launched, the time since then has been divided by the chain's average block duration, resulting in a value for the block height. As a result, the block height is the total number of blocks mined (or validated) on a given blockchain network from its inception.

Based on the level of mining difficulty, the average block time should nearly match the goal block time. Many blockchains alter the difficulty of mining dependent on the amount of aggregate hashrate that the network possesses in order to maintain a consistent block period. On average, Bitcoin blocks take 10 minutes to process. When the predicted block duration is affected by how much computing power miners devote to one network, it can be unpredictable.

As the average block period and hash rate of different blockchains are different, the block height should not be directly compared. However, a local duplicate of a blockchain may be regarded "out of sync" if the block height of the local copy differs from the globally approved block height. Consequently, the number of blocks in the blockchain can be used to determine whether or not the copy of that blockchain is current.