Slow Block Alert - DEPRECATED

THIS ENDPOINT HAS BEEN DEPRECATED AND WILL NO LONGER BE ACTIVELY MAINTAINED, UPDATED OR SUPPORTED

Alert Definition

Alerts if a block is taking an unusually long time to be mined.

Dictionary

Name	AlertID	Category	Sub-category	Type	Unit	Interval
Slow Block Alert	time_inter_block_hi	Alert	Blockchain Alerts	N/A	Seconds	Ad hoc

Interpretation

Blockchain protocols often feature a time interval target between blocks. That time is called inter block time. Bitcoin, for example, targets an inter block time of ten minutes. Inter block targets, such as Bitcoin's ten- minute rule, may differ considerably from actual inter block times. There is a multitude of factors that influence block times, including the number of miners currently online, the difficulty of mining a block, amongst other factors. Since Proof-of-Work mining is a Poisson process, it is impossible to predict when a block will be mined. Nevertheless, it is important to identify when inter block time is exceedingly long.

Potential Root Causes

Proof-of-Work Mining is a Poisson process. As such, there is a probability that slow blocks will occur even if network conditions are stable.

Slow blocks might be caused by a large portion of miners might going offline at once and decreasing the network's hashrate.

Asset Coverage

Bitcoin (BTC)