diff --git a/cmd/babylond/cmd/testnet.go b/cmd/babylond/cmd/testnet.go
index adc9964e1..aad3dac27 100644
--- a/cmd/babylond/cmd/testnet.go
+++ b/cmd/babylond/cmd/testnet.go
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ Example:
 	cmd.Flags().String(server.FlagMinGasPrices, fmt.Sprintf("0.000006%s", sdk.DefaultBondDenom), "Minimum gas prices to accept for transactions; All fees in a tx must meet this minimum (e.g. 0.01photino,0.001stake)")
 	cmd.Flags().String(flags.FlagKeyringBackend, flags.DefaultKeyringBackend, "Select keyring's backend (os|file|test)")
 	cmd.Flags().String(flags.FlagKeyAlgorithm, string(hd.Secp256k1Type), "Key signing algorithm to generate keys for")
-	cmd.Flags().Uint64(flagTimeBetweenBlocks, 5, "Time between blocks in seconds.")
+	cmd.Flags().Uint64(flagTimeBetweenBlocks, 10, "Time between blocks in seconds.")
 	// btccheckpoint args
 	cmd.Flags().String(flagBtcNetwork, string(bbn.BtcSimnet), "Bitcoin network to use. Available networks: simnet, testnet, mainnet")
 	cmd.Flags().String(flagBtcCheckpointTag, string(txformat.TestTag), "Tag to use for Bitcoin checkpoints.")
@@ -221,7 +221,8 @@ func InitTestnet(
 		// Set the number of simultaneous connections to unlimited
 		nodeConfig.Instrumentation.MaxOpenConnections = 0
 		// Time between blocks
-		nodeConfig.Consensus.TimeoutCommit = time.Second * time.Duration(timeBetweenBlocks)
+		nodeConfig.Consensus.CreateEmptyBlocks = false
+		nodeConfig.Consensus.CreateEmptyBlocksInterval = time.Second * time.Duration(timeBetweenBlocks)
 
 		if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Join(nodeDir, "config"), nodeDirPerm); err != nil {
 			_ = os.RemoveAll(outputDir)