Faster block production doesn’t mean faster transaction finality. They’re two different metrics.
Take Ethereum, for example (according to ethereum.org):
1. Block production: One slot every 12 seconds, with a validator proposing a new block.
2. Finality: Every 32 slots make up an epoch, with the first block serving as a checkpoint. Once about two-thirds of staked ETH has voted in favor of two checkpoints, transactions are considered “finalized.”
3. Reversing a transaction after finality would cost an attacker at least one-third of the staked ETH.
An epoch is 32 × 12 seconds = 6.4 minutes. So while Ethereum produces a block every 12 seconds, finality takes several minutes.
Two recent developments each change one of these numbers: Solana’s Alpenglow aims to bring finality down to around 150 milliseconds, while Zcash’s NU7 changes block times from 75 seconds to 25 seconds.
What to watch next: When you see news about something getting “faster,” first check whether it’s block production or finality. $ETH
Take Ethereum, for example (according to ethereum.org):
1. Block production: One slot every 12 seconds, with a validator proposing a new block.
2. Finality: Every 32 slots make up an epoch, with the first block serving as a checkpoint. Once about two-thirds of staked ETH has voted in favor of two checkpoints, transactions are considered “finalized.”
3. Reversing a transaction after finality would cost an attacker at least one-third of the staked ETH.
An epoch is 32 × 12 seconds = 6.4 minutes. So while Ethereum produces a block every 12 seconds, finality takes several minutes.
Two recent developments each change one of these numbers: Solana’s Alpenglow aims to bring finality down to around 150 milliseconds, while Zcash’s NU7 changes block times from 75 seconds to 25 seconds.
What to watch next: When you see news about something getting “faster,” first check whether it’s block production or finality. $ETH
