Speed is a serious criterion best blockchains must posses to stand out. This same reason is why Solana, nicknamed the "Ethereum killer," has stunned everyone.
It has become the fastest blockchain with unbelievable transaction speeds. A study by CoinGecko shows Solana handled 95 million transactions in just one day!
This is not just a cool network achievement but a huge milestone for blockchain and crypto.
Solana's Lightning-Fast Performance
CoinGecko's report reveals Solana has the highest average transactions per second (TPS) at 1,053 TPS. This proves Solana's status as an "Ethereum killer," despite some issues with network outages.
The next fastest is Sui at 854 TPS, followed by Binance Smart Chain at 378 TPS. Polygon, TON, Tron, Near, and Avalanche have lower TPS rates.
Older blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum have struggled with transaction speeds. Ethereum's top TPS is only 22.8, while Bitcoin's is a mere 10.7 TPS.
To find the fastest blockchains, CoinGecko looked at the top 30 blockchains ranked by total value locked (TVL) on May 15, 2024.
They used the realized TPS metric to compare speeds across different blockchains fairly.
Solana's Record-Breaking Moment
On April 6, 2023, Solana hit an unbelievable peak of 1,504 TPS due to meme coin transactions! This made Solana 46 times faster than Ethereum and 5 times faster than Polygon at that moment.
Surprisingly, even as the fastest blockchain, Solana only reached 1.6% of its theoretical maximum TPS of 65,000 according to CoinGecko's study.
Solana's Origins
Solana started its main network in March 2020, claiming it could do 50,000 TPS. Its goal was to fix the scalability issues faced by Ethereum.
Unlike Ethereum which uses layer-2 solutions, Solana provides scalable solutions directly on its core network. However, Solana has faced criticism over network outages.
In April, 76% of Solana transactions failed due to high meme coin demand. Earlier, Solana's block production stopped for 5 hours until the issue was fixed.
Ranking the Fastest and Why TPS Matters
CoinGecko ranked blockchains by transaction volume. They identified the top 30 networks by total value locked and measured their maximum transactions in the past year. Ethereum's competitors and layer-2 chains are in the top 20 blockchains.
Comparing blockchains by transactions per second (TPS) shows their actual utility. Higher TPS means faster transactions and more active users, leading to higher adoption.
The Fastest Blockchain List
According to CoinGecko's report:
- Solana is the fastest blockchain with 1,053 average daily TPS in 2024 (1.6% of its 65,000 max)
- Sui is 2nd with 854.1 TPS
- Binance Smart Chain is 3rd with 378.3 TPS
- Ethereum ranks 17th below many competitors, while Bitcoin ranks in the bottom 10 with only 10.7 TPS.
Solana has shocked the blockchain space by becoming the fastest with blistering speeds. While just a start, it highlights blockchain's pursuit of speed and efficiency.
The best part is, as competition heats up, Solana currently wears the "speed king" crown.