Introductory Analysis of Finality Times in Crypto Networks

Key Insights

• Finality times in crypto networks are an important consideration for future applications, and high-value applications may require the fastest possible "true finality" time.
• Networks that support fast finality may have an advantage over slower networks, contrasting the Ethereum rollup-centric consensus in the crypto space today.
• Avalanche and Aptos are the clear winners when it comes to finality times among live networks, with Solana having the fastest finality paired with a large node count.
• Use cases for fast finality include on-chain games with high activity and complex interactions, high-frequency flash loan (hf-fl) leverage, and a SWIFT-like system executed via on-chain credentials and smart contract checks.

Time to finality (TTF) is often overlooked when compared to transactions per second (TPS). However, in future crypto applications, there may be an "elastic" demand for quick finality. Some apps won't require it at all, while others may demand the fastest possible "true finality" time.

If high-value applications end up prioritizing fast finality times, networks that support fast finality will have an advantage.