# Understanding Epochs **Epoch:** An epoch is a measurement of time within the blockchain. An epoch is six hours long and occurs at the following times: 4:00 am, 10:00 am, 4:00 pm, and 10:00 pm (UTC time). **Expansionary Epoch:** An expansionary epoch is the amount of $GLDM that is printed by $SGLDM in order to increase the total circulating supply. To simplify the explanation with a hypothetical example, let’s say an epoch is three days long and there are $100 dollars in the circulating supply. If the money printer grows the supply by 10% of the existing circulating supply each day, at the end of the 3 days you'd have 100 \* 1.1 \* 1.1 \* 1.1 = $133. Then, let’s say the emissions decrease to 5% per day. You’d then have $133 \* 1.05 \* 1.05 \* 1.05 = $153 at the end of this second epoch. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://goldmintfi.gitbook.io/whitepaper/main-protocol/actively-participating-in-the-protocol/understanding-epochs.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.