What is Block Height?
The number of blocks that exist between a given block and the Genesis Block (the first block ever created). As of early 2026, Bitcoin's block height is over 936,000. Block height is used to measure time and progress on the Bitcoin network.
Why It Matters
Block height is Bitcoin's way of marking time without relying on clocks. Because new blocks arrive approximately every 10 minutes, block height serves as a timestamp of sorts. Important Bitcoin events are marked by block height rather than dates—for example, halving events occur at specific block heights (210,000, 420,000, 630,000, 840,000, etc.). This matters because it's objective and verifiable. You can't argue about what block height is the current one; nodes can independently count blocks from the Genesis Block. Block height also helps you understand how deeply confirmed a transaction is. If your transaction is in block 936,000 and the current block height is 936,010, your transaction has 10 confirmations.
How It Works
The Genesis Block is block height 0 (or sometimes counted as block 1). Every subsequent block increments the height by one. Since blocks are created approximately every 10 minutes on average, you can estimate how much time has passed by multiplying the number of new blocks by 10 minutes. The difficulty adjustment mechanism automatically recalibrates every 2,016 blocks to maintain this 10-minute average, even as mining power on the network changes. This means block height is a consistent, predictable measure of Bitcoin's progress independent of calendar time.