What is transaction throughput?
- Author
- CRYPTO PORT Editorial
- Published
- Updated
- Reading time
- 4 min
In short
Throughput is how many transactions a chain can process per unit of time, usually quoted as TPS. The ceiling follows from block capacity and block interval, and it shifts with what the transactions actually do. Advertised figures and real-world figures rarely match, so headline numbers mislead.
Key points
- The ceiling follows from block capacity divided by block interval
- Complex transactions consume more capacity than simple ones
- Headline TPS is usually a best-case theoretical maximum
- Once capacity binds, a fee auction begins
Definition
The volume of transactions a blockchain can process in a given time, most often expressed as transactions per second (TPS).
The ceiling is arithmetic: capacity per block divided by the block interval. Bitcoin has a capped block size and a ten-minute target, which bounds its rate. On Ethereum the per-block gas limit plays the role of capacity, and a plain transfer costs far less of it than a contract call.
So any single TPS figure depends on what mix of transactions you assume. A benchmark of nothing but simple transfers will not match a live chain carrying real DeFi traffic, and measured rates move with congestion. Treating one number as a fixed spec is not sound.
There are broadly two ways to raise throughput: enlarge the base chain's capacity, or batch transactions off-chain and post only the result, as rollups and state channels do. Ethereum has pursued the second path, reshaping the base layer into a place to publish data.
Watch out for
- · Advertised TPS is usually a lab maximum and does not promise production performance
- · High throughput is often bought with weaker decentralisation or harder verification
- · Measured rates move with congestion, so do not rank chains on a single quoted figure