A groundbreaking report by Taraxa reveals that numerous prominent blockchain projects have significantly overestimated their transaction processing capacity. According to the study, well-known blockchain networks such as Sonic, Solana, and Aptos exhibit a substantial disparity between their theoretical transactions per second (TPS) and the actual maximum TPS achievable on the mainnet.
The study's findings indicate a widespread overestimation of network efficiency and speed among these leading blockchain platforms.
Majority of Blockchains Fall Short on Efficiency
Taraxa, a Layer-1 blockchain, undertook an in-depth analysis of multiple top blockchain networks. It became apparent that while most networks boast about advancements in their transaction throughput, many of these claims are based on tests conducted under ideal circumstances. The objective of this study was to assess how these optimistic assertions hold up under regular operational scenarios.
"Clients, developers, and stakeholders merit transparency. The blockchain industry has long fixated on theoretical performance metrics, but the validity of these figures is questionable if they cannot be replicated in real-world settings," remarked Taraxa co-founder Steven Pu in an exclusive statement shared with BeInCrypto.
To evaluate the real-world performance of these networks, the investigation introduced a novel metric known as "TPS per dollar." By comparing a blockchain's transactions per second against the cost of running a validator node, the study aimed to gauge the actual throughput effectively.
This approach offers a more accurate measure of these platforms' ability to deliver on their promises.
For instance, the study scrutinized the highest recorded throughput levels on various blockchain projects, excluding permissioned and sharded networks while also disregarding specific transaction types to prevent artificial inflation of numbers.
Subsequently, these figures were juxtaposed with the TPS claims made by developers:
The study's outcomes disclosed substantial exaggeration across the board. Sonic (formerly Fantom) touted a blockchain throughput exceeding its actual capabilities by over 100 times, with the industry average hovering around 20 times. The competitive landscape within the Layer-1 blockchain ecosystem potentially drives this pattern of systematic inflation.
"Our research underscores that several networks necessitate costly hardware to achieve modest transaction rates, which is neither technologically impressive nor decentralized. By shifting the focus to verifiable data from live networks, we can redirect the discourse toward meaningful performance benchmarks," Pu elaborated.
Furthermore, the comparison of TPS with dollar costs yielded intriguing insights. Despite incurring the highest expenses, Solana demonstrated efficient resource utilization to maintain a robust blockchain throughput. Taraxa also asserted its exceptional performance ratio within the industry, potentially influencing its reasons for conducting the study and employing this metric.
Irrespective of the company's marketing aspirations, the study underscores the prevalent practice of overinflating blockchain throughput estimations across the industry. Taraxa's analysis extends beyond blockchain networks, encompassing essential sectors within the Web3 domain such as AI, which could offer valuable insights.
With concrete data at hand, it is hoped that these findings will prompt more realistic disclosures from blockchain projects moving forward.
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