Transactions Per Second (TPS)
A measure of how many transactions a blockchain can confirm each second under load.
Transactions per second is the headline speed number for any chain. Bitcoin manages about seven; Ethereum's base layer, roughly fifteen. Visa's network is often cited as handling thousands, which is why critics call early blockchains slow.
TPS figures deserve skepticism. A project may quote a theoretical maximum from a lab, not what the live network sustains. Solana advertises very high TPS but counts internal vote messages in some figures. Real throughput depends on transaction complexity and how many nodes must agree before a transaction counts as final.
Related terms
A network's capacity to handle more transactions and users without fees and delays spiking.
Scalability TrilemmaVitalik Buterin's framing that blockchains trade off decentralization, security, and raw scale against each other.
FinalityThe point at which a confirmed transaction can no longer be reversed or pushed off the chain.