Blockchains like Solana brag about TPS — but it's misleading
Developers love to tout the number of transactions that blockchains can process per second. Unfortunately, that fixation often distracts from other important issues — such as network security. The throughput of blockchains — namely, their ability to process X number of transactions per second (TPS) — is often touted in such a way as to downplay other considerations, such as decentralization and security. The blockchain trilemma, of course, acknowledges that succeeding in all three areas is challenging, though not impossible. There is no denying that throughput and scalability are important, indeed vital if block chains are eventually to become the rails on which the financial system is run. However, there is a major misconception surrounding the metric used to assess the scalability of layer-1s and 2s. Although super-fast blockchains love nothing more than to trumpet their TPS numbers, it is a rather inadequate method for assessing throughput and fails to accurately represent legitim...