<h2>Understanding TPS: A Basic Measure of Performance</h2>TPS is a simple measurement of how many transactions can be completed by a blockchain at the same time. TPS is often used in blockchain technical white papers and marketing to show speed, but experts caution that it is not the only way to judge the scalability of a blockchain. Under controlled conditions several networks show rates of TPS that are well into the millions, however these numbers typically drop dramatically when the network is in the real world (live usage) and activated on many different decentralized nodes. <h2>Why TPS Tests Don’t Always Show the Truth.</h2>There are many situations where TPS are measured in rooms with one connected node, such as with a test net. “If you’re running your benchmarking tests in isolated conditions (test nets or pre-main nets) using one node, then you might as well be saying that Instagram is a blockchain that has a TPS of 1 billion because there is someone validating every Api call before it is executed,” says Carter Feldman, the founder of Psy Protocol. These numbers do not account for the complexities involved in verifying and relaying transactions across a distributed ledger and are based on the speed of virtual machines, not on the robustness of block chains. Feldman believes that real TPS is demonstrated when transactions are processed, relayed &amp; validated by multiple nodes in on-chain production environments only. <img src="https://jid.rerrkvifj.com/media/customer/creatorSystem/6b66dc2c-5b01-4a37-876f-e8262e366f3d.png"> &nbsp;This bar graph shows the top ten blockchain networks ranked from highest daily average TPS (transactions per second) to lowest, using Solana, which has over 1,000 TPS, as an example of a peak value not occurring on a regular basis within a decentralized environment. (Image source – Hashlock) <h2>Decentralization’s Toll on Speed</h2>The design of blockchain is fundamentally incompatible with the speed of transaction processing. Increasing TPS adds additional workloads to all network nodes, whether in terms of computing power or time needed to sync that data. All factors such as bandwidth limitations, latency, and network structure can turn an ideal performance benchmark into an impossible task. According to Feldman, "The TPS of a single node or virtual machine is not an accurate representation of a blockchain's actual performance across the entire network".&nbsp; Due to this configuration, full decentralisation becomes increasingly difficult to achieve as speed increases, resulting in trade-offs in either security or the level of participation of the nodes. <h2>Rethinking Design: Execution versus Verification</h2>A possible solution is to separate the execution of transactions from their verification. For example, with the use of zero-knowledge proofs, networks can validate many transacted amounts at once, without requiring all nodes to run all of those transactions again to verify them (this creates an ability for each node to confirm that a transaction indeed occurred).10 Feldman discusses the concept of a recursive ZK-proof; indeed, you can create a ZK-proof confirming that both ZK-proofs are correct from two different ZK-proofs. There is therefore less pressure on each network to provide the necessary resources to accept or reject multiple transactions, since the burden can be shifted from individual nodes to specialized nodes that only provide proof of validity. <h2>Real-World TPS: Hype Paradise</h2>The EOS project claimed a theoretical throughput of 1 million TPS in their white paper; however, testing under real-world conditions revealed only an approximate rate of 50 TPS. When tested under real-world conditions, the Solana blockchain was able to reach throughput levels of 3,000 to 4,000 TPS, although only 40% of those transactions were user initiated instead of votes. As a result, the above examples show how much better transaction fees may be utilized as a key indicator of actual demand when compared with raw TPS measurements. <img src="https://jid.rerrkvifj.com/media/customer/creatorSystem/447aa46d-93cc-46e6-8c5c-6973118e75e6.png">Although the graph demonstrates TPS among various chains (particularly Ethereum at 15 tps and Solana at 65,000 tps), the context of the graphic should be considered as many of these TPSs reported do not occur in practice, or represent theoretical maximums. Image Credit: Supra. <h2>Blockchain Scaling Insights</h2>TPS gets a lot of attention, but it's only part of the bigger picture; true scaling encompasses three components: speed, decentralization, and real-world applicability. As we continue to evolve networks by incorporating technologies such as ZK, we will begin to see more accurate metrics. For further exploration, see Cointelegraph's complete article.

Blockchain TPS often looks impressive in tests but drops in real use, where decentralization, multi node validation, and real demand reveal true scalability beyond hype metrics.

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