Bitcoin Cash Block Production Accelerates as Mining Difficulty Adjusts

After a slow start, blocks on the newly launched bitcoin cash blockchain are now being mined more frequently.

When the cryptocurrency originally split from the main bitcoin blockchain earlier this week, blocks were crawling in, with the first one taking about five hours to find and another taking nearly 13 hours. This came as no surprise to many, since bitcoin cash has much less mining power (with only a few groups, ViaBTC, Bitcoin.com and other unknowns securing the new blockchain).

But since blocks on the bitcoin blockchain are generated roughly every 10 minutes, some onlookers derided the new cryptocurrency for this initial roadblock, one that made it more difficult for users to send transactions or exchange bitcoin cash for other cryptocurrencies.

However, block speeds have since picked up a bit. Today, for example, there's been roughly one block per hour.

This change is directed by an automatic adjustment of the difficulty (a function that regulates how easy it is for miners to generate new cryptocurrency tokens). Bitcoin cash's difficulty has adjusted since it first broke off Tuesday, so miners are now having an easier time finding blocks.

Colorful blocks image via Shutterstock