Empty Blocks
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Definition
The number of empty blocks in the past 6 blocks. Empty blocks are blocks that do not contain any transactions other than the coinbase. They may be a result of no underlying economic activity leading to no user transactions to mine, or they can be a result of deliberate action by miners. As explored , there are incentives for miners to work on empty blocks. Since empty blocks consume less space, they can be propagated faster. Additionally, empty blocks can increase fees in times of vibrant network activity, as unprocessed transactions accumulate. If persistent, empty blocks can be very disruptive to a network.
Dictionary
Name
MetricID
Category
Sub-category
Type
Unit
Interval
Empty Blocks
block_count_empty_6b
KRI
Empty Blocks
Sum
Number of blocks
1 block
Methodology
The 6 blocks from the tip of the blockchain (including the most recent block) are assessed, and the number of empty blocks is counted.
Available Assets
Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH)*
*Ethereum data is available up to the merge on 9/15/2022. After that date Ethereum data for this metric is not available
Sample Query
Definition
The count of consecutive empty blocks captured within the most-recent 1-minute interval.
Dictionary
Name
MetricID
Category
Sub-category
Type
Unit
Interval
Consecutive Empty Blocks
block_count_consecutive_empty
KRI
Empty Blocks
Sum
Count of Blocks
1b
Methodology
The set of most recently-processed blocks within a 1-minute window are captured and their contents are evaluated. Every consecutive empty block within the window is counted. For Ethereum, the maximum possible value this metric is 5 given that the time between blocks in that network is fixed at 12 seconds.
Available Assets
Ethereum (ETH)
Sample Query
Definition
The count of missed slots within the most-recent 1-minute interval. For context, a slot represents an opportunity for a block producer (or validator) to create a block. If the validator fails to produce a block at the slot, it is considered missed and the blockchain progresses to the following slot.
Dictionary
Missed Slots
block_missed_slots
KRI
Empty Blocks
Sum
Slots
1b
Methodology
This metric infers the number of missed slots on the basis of the time between blocks. If a block takes more than 12 seconds to arrive, it can be inferred that a slot has been missed as per Ethereum’s consensus rules. Note that if two slots are missed consecutively, we would still need to wait until for valid slot to arrive to capture it, as per the methodology.
Available Assets
Ethereum (ETH)
Sample Query
Empty Blocks metrics can be accessed using these endpoints:
timeseries/asset-metrics
and by passing in the metric ID's block_count_empty*
in the metrics
parameter.
Returns requested metrics for specified assets. Results for block by block metrics (1b
frequency) are ordered by tuple (asset, height, block_hash)
, all other metrics are ordered by tuple (asset, time)
. You can change the sorting using sort
query parameter. Supported output formats are json
(default) and csv
, use format
query parameter to override it. To fetch the next page of results use next_page_url
JSON response field or x-next-page-url
CSV HTTP header if present. If multiple metrics are requested in the same time the strict policy for partially available metrics among requested ones is applied:
Comma separated list of assets. Use the /catalog-all/assets endpoint for the full list of supported assets or specify asterisk (*) in order to get metrics for all supported assets.
Comma separated metrics to request time series data for. Information on all available metrics can be found on page https://coverage.coinmetrics.io/asset-metrics-v2. Use the /catalog-all/metrics or /catalog-all/assets endpoint for the full list of supported metrics per asset.
["AdrActCnt","BlkHgt"]
Frequency of the metrics. Supported values are 1b
(block by block), 1s
(one second), 1m
(one minute), 5m
(five minutes), 10m
(ten minutes), 1h
(one hour), 1d
(one day), 1d-ny-close
(one day at New York close time). Please refer to the /catalog/metrics
endpoint for the full list. Use the /catalog-all/assets endpoint for the full list of supported frequencies per asset-metric pair.
1d
Example: 1b
Which metric values do you want to see. Applicable only for "reviewable" metrics. You can find them in the /catalog/metrics
endpoint.
all
Available options: Start of the time interval. This field refers to the time
field in the response. Multiple formats of ISO 8601 are supported: 2006-01-20T00:00:00Z
, 2006-01-20T00:00:00.000Z
, 2006-01-20T00:00:00.123456Z
, 2006-01-20T00:00:00.123456789Z
, 2006-01-20
, 20060120
. Inclusive by default. Mutually exclusive with start_height
and start_hash
. UTC timezone by default. Z
suffix is optional and timezone
parameter has a priority over it. If start_time
is omitted, response will include time series from the earliest time available.
End of the time interval. This field refers to the time
field in the response. Multiple formats of ISO 8601 are supported: 2006-01-20T00:00:00Z
, 2006-01-20T00:00:00.000Z
, 2006-01-20T00:00:00.123456Z
, 2006-01-20T00:00:00.123456789Z
, 2006-01-20
, 20060120
. Inclusive by default. Mutually exclusive with end_height
and end_hash
. UTC timezone by default. Z
suffix is optional and timezone
parameter has a priority over it. If end_time
is omitted, response will include time series up to the latest time available.
The start height indicates the beginning block height for the set of data that are returned. Inclusive by default. Mutually exclusive with start_time
and start_hash
.
The end height indicates the ending block height for the set of data that are returned. Inclusive by default. Mutually exclusive with end_time
and end_hash
. This parameter is disabled for Community users.
The start hash indicates the beginning block height for the set of data that are returned. Inclusive by default. Mutually exclusive with start_time
and start_height
.
The end hash indicates the ending block height for the set of data that are returned. Inclusive by default. Mutually exclusive with end_time
and end_height
.
Inclusive or exclusive corresponding start_*
parameters.
true
Inclusive or exclusive corresponding end_*
parameters.
true
Specifies how many blocks behind the chain tip block by block metrics (1b
frequency) are based on. Default for btc
is 2
and 99
for eth
. For example, a min_confirmations
of 0
means metrics are being calculated for the block at the tip of the chain (the latest block received by our node) whereas a min_confirmations
of 6
means that metrics are being applied to the block that is 6
blocks behind the chain tip (i.e., the 7th block if the chain tip is block 1).
Timezone name for start_time
and end_time
timestamps. This parameter does not modify the output times, which are always UTC
. Format is defined by TZ database.
UTC
Example: America/New_York
Number of items per single page of results. The value of this parameter is ignored if the endpoint supports the format
parameter and its value is set to json_stream
.
100
Where does the first page start, at the start of the interval or at the end. The value of this parameter is ignored if the endpoint supports the format
parameter and its value is set to json_stream
.
end
Available options: How results will be sorted. Metrics with 1b
frequency are sorted by (asset, height, block_hash)
tuples by default. Metrics with other frequencies are sorted by (asset, time)
by default. If you want to sort 1d
metrics by (time, asset)
you should choose time
as value for the sort
parameter. Sorting by time
is useful if you request metrics for a set of assets.
asset
Available options: How many entries per asset result should contain. For example, this combination of parameters assets=btc,eth&metrics=ReferenceRate&limit_per_asset=1
returns the latest ReferenceRate
values for btc
and eth
.
Human-readable formatting of JSON responses.
false
Format of the response.
json
Available options: Nulls are represented as zeros in the response.
false
Token for receiving the results from the next page of a query. Should not be used directly. To iterate through pages just use next_page_url
response field.
Ignore "forbidden" errors for the items you currently don't have access to.
false
Ignore "unsupported" errors for not currently supported by Coin Metrics items.
false
Time series of asset metrics.