Transactions Per Second (TPS)

The maximum number of transactions that a blockchain network can process per second.

Transactions per second (TPS) refers to the total possible number of transactions that any blockchain network can process in a second. This number is often used to measure the efficiency of a blockchain so that networks with higher TPS are said to have greater efficiency than those with lower TPS. However, it should be noted that blockchain networks are certainly capable of processing more transactions than the usual TPS, but not when adhering to the decentralized model for transaction validation. Thus, TPS does not directly measure network efficiency but scaling proficiency.

Different blockchains have different TPSes. Bitcoin is usually estimated to have a TPS of between 3 and 7, while Ethereum can handle 20 TPS. Many newer blockchains boast of TPS in the hundreds and thousands.