<p>There is no coordination done specifically for difficulty calculations. The difficulty is computed deterministically based on the data in the blockchain (shared among all nodes), specifically the timestamps of blocks.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-09-10T15:13:59.450Z
2013-09-10T15:13:59.450Z
Meni Rosenfeld
<p>Specifically I would like to know what messages are sent between nodes in order to figure out total processing power of the network and therefore difficulty. How is the new difficulty value spread through the network and what if nodes do not agree on it?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-09-10T15:13:18.273Z
Possible duplicate of http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/5838/how-is-difficulty-calculated.
Meni Rosenfeld
<development><protocol><difficulty>
How do nodes come to a consensus on difficulty?
Dan
# How do nodes come to a consensus on difficulty?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-09-10)

Specifically I would like to know what messages are sent between nodes in order to figure out total processing power of the network and therefore difficulty. How is the new difficulty value spread through the network and what if nodes do not agree on it?

**Tags:** development, protocol, difficulty

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Possible duplicate of http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/5838/how-is-difficulty-calculated.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2013-09-10. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

There is no coordination done specifically for difficulty calculations. The difficulty is computed deterministically based on the data in the blockchain (shared among all nodes), specifically the timestamps of blocks.


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