Block target refers to the time frame within which a new block is expected to be mined in a blockchain. This concept is essential for maintaining a stable and predictable rate of block creation, ensuring that the network functions efficiently and securely. For example, Bitcoin has a block target of approximately 10 minutes.

This means that miners aim to solve the cryptographic puzzle roughly every 10 minutes to add a new block to the blockchain. If blocks are being created too quickly or too slowly, the network adjusts the difficulty of the mining process to stabilize the block creation time.

This adjustment is usually done every 2016 blocks, which takes about two weeks. The goal is to ensure that the average time between blocks stays close to the target, thus supporting effective confirmation of transactions and overall system security. By maintaining this balance, the block target helps to prevent issues like network congestion or slow transaction times.