<p>I'm trying to understand Proof of Work and something doesn't seem to fit,</p>

<p>First, it seems to me that the faster the network can confirm a transaction, better is. I'm coming from a computing background where more throughput, better.</p>

<p>So why Bitcoin for example imposes a 10 min average? And  why use difficult to impose that average? Why not simply let the network go faster as it grows, this would make more likely to be adopted in day usage</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-23T13:36:44.510Z
See also  ["Proof of Work" questions](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/search?q=%5Bproof-of-work%5D+is%3Aq), such as [How does proof of work inspire trust when the work is just guessing?](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/83951/13866), and also  [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof_of_work)
RedGrittyBrick
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-08-23T23:47:06.513Z
Thanks for the references, so, basically making the network faster would make it less safe?!
geckos
<difficulty>
What is the purpose of difficult in PoW
geckos
# What is the purpose of difficult in PoW

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-08-23)

I'm trying to understand Proof of Work and something doesn't seem to fit,

First, it seems to me that the faster the network can confirm a transaction, better is. I'm coming from a computing background where more throughput, better.

So why Bitcoin for example imposes a 10 min average? And why use difficult to impose that average? Why not simply let the network go faster as it grows, this would make more likely to be adopted in day usage

**Tags:** difficulty

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: See also  ["Proof of Work" questions](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/search?q=%5Bproof-of-work%5D+is%3Aq), such as [How does proof of work inspire trust when the work is just guessing?](https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/83951/13866), and also  [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof_of_work)  
> **username_0**: Thanks for the references, so, basically making the network faster would make it less safe?!  

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## 0 answers

