I was just exploring a pretty important concept that many people overlook when learning about blockchain — what is TPS. In fact, it greatly impacts whether a blockchain network can succeed or not.

What is TPS? Simply put, it’s the number of transactions a blockchain can process per second. It’s like measuring the speed of a payment system. For comparison, traditional systems like VISA can handle about 1,500 to 2,000 transactions per second — which is quite a large number.

But when looking at Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two oldest blockchains, their TPS numbers are much lower. Bitcoin hovers around 5 TPS, and Ethereum is only about 10 TPS. Why is that? Because they are designed with high decentralization, which ensures security and transparency but also slows down processing speed.

I see that TPS is directly related to the practical usability of Web3 projects. If you want to build a DeFi app, on-chain games, or NFT marketplaces, you need a network with sufficiently high TPS to handle large transaction volumes without congestion. Users today expect experiences comparable to traditional centralized services, so if the network is slow, they will leave.

Some blockchains have made significant progress in increasing TPS. Hedera currently leads with a real TPS of 1,909 and can reach up to 3,287, using a council-based governance model. Solana is also impressive with 777 TPS currently and a maximum of 1,624 TPS. Then there’s TRON with 91.27 TPS, opBNB with 57.4 TPS, and BNB Chain with 52.5 TPS. Each of these chains employs different approaches to balance speed with security.

But here’s what I want to emphasize — TPS is not the only factor. When you increase TPS, you must be willing to trade off decentralization and security. Some chains optimize block size or use off-chain solutions, but this can impact the network’s independence.

The key is to find the right balance. Instead of just chasing the highest TPS number, we should look for blockchains that can maintain good transaction speeds while still preserving security and decentralization. That’s the real key to widespread Web3 adoption. I’m monitoring the development of these chains on Gate to see how blockchain technology continues to advance.