Time Chain Explorer
Visualize Bitcoin's timechain with block time analysis and variance demonstration
Estimated Next Block In:
10:00
Average block time: ~10 minutes
Current Block
820,000
Avg Time (Last 10)
9:45
Avg Time (Last 100)
10:12
Fastest (Last 100)
0:32
Slowest (Last 100)
45:18
Block Time Distribution (Last 100 Blocks)
📦 Recent Blocks (Live Simulation)
Understanding Bitcoin's Timechain
Probabilistic Mining
: Block times are random - some are 1 minute, others 30+ minutes. Average: ~10 minutes
Poisson Distribution
: Block discovery follows a Poisson process, meaning variance is expected and normal
Difficulty Adjustment
: Every 2,016 blocks (~2 weeks), difficulty adjusts to maintain 10-minute average
Not a "Blockchain"
: Bitcoin is better described as a "timechain" - blocks ordered by time/proof-of-work
Security Through Time
: Older blocks have more accumulated proof-of-work, making them practically immutable
Timestamp Rules
: Block timestamps must be greater than median of last 11 blocks and less than network time + 2 hours