How Many Transactions Per Second Can Blockchain Really Handle?

Understanding Transaction Speed in Crypto

Speed matters. In a world where traditional banking can take days to move money across borders, cryptocurrency promised something better. Bitcoin delivers in under an hour. But here’s the catch—not all blockchains are created equal when it comes to processing transactions per second.

The term transactions per second (TPS) might sound technical, but it’s straightforward: it measures how many transactions a network can handle simultaneously. Think of it like a highway. More lanes mean more cars can move at once. The same principle applies to blockchain networks.

Why Your Transaction Fees Skyrocket During Market Chaos

When crypto prices surge or crash, everyone rushes to trade. Suddenly, thousands of transactions flood the network at once. If a blockchain can’t process them fast enough, network congestion kicks in. Users wait longer, and worse—they pay higher fees to jump the queue.

This created a vicious cycle. Traders figured out that paying more got their transactions processed faster. So everyone started bidding up fees. Before long, transaction costs became so expensive that average users couldn’t afford to participate. This is why transactions per second isn’t just a number—it’s the difference between a usable network and a broken one.

The Two-Speed Problem: Average vs. Maximum TPS

Every blockchain operates with two different TPS rates. The average TPS handles normal, everyday demand. The maximum TPS kicks in during peak times when the entire network is stressed.

Bitcoin averages just five transactions per second. In rare cases, it might hit seven. For a network that dominates crypto headlines, this is surprisingly slow. The reason? Bitcoin’s community chose security and decentralization over speed. No major upgrades have been approved to increase its capacity. Compare that to Visa, which reportedly processes over 65,000 transactions per second—and you can see why traditional finance still outpaces crypto on this metric.

Ethereum faced similar constraints. Originally it could handle 15 TPS. After switching to Proof of Stake in September 2022, expectations jumped dramatically. The network could theoretically reach 20,000 to 100,000 TPS—a massive improvement, though real-world performance remains lower.

Which Networks Actually Deliver Speed?

Solana sits at the top of the TPS rankings. Its whitepaper claims it could theoretically hit 710,000 transactions per second. Realistically? The network has demonstrated 65,000 TPS in testing, with developers suggesting 400,000 is achievable. According to CoinGecko data, Solana recorded a maximum daily average of 1,053.7 TPS with block finality between 21-46 seconds.

SUI launched its mainnet in May 2023 as a Layer-1 blockchain. The network claims up to 125,000 TPS capacity and achieved a maximum daily average of 854.1 TPS. Its architecture uses parallel processing, which lets validators handle multiple transactions simultaneously—a smart design choice for reducing bottlenecks.

BSC (BNB Smart Chain) recorded real TPS speeds of 378 in late 2023. It’s built to be compatible with Ethereum’s Virtual Machine, making it accessible for developers familiar with Ethereum’s ecosystem.

Ethereum 2.0 upgraded the network to handle theoretical maximums of 100,000 TPS. Before that, it maxed out around 12-15 TPS. Given Ethereum’s popularity and DApp ecosystem, that extra capacity is essential.

XRP and RippleNet deserve mention too. Ripple’s network can allegedly process up to 50,000 TPS—outpacing traditional systems like SWIFT. Though centralization concerns linger around the Ripple project, speed clearly isn’t the issue.

Scalability: The Real Challenge Ahead

As crypto adoption explodes, scalability becomes critical. Transaction speeds directly impact a network’s ability to grow. A blockchain with low TPS will eventually hit a ceiling—users will experience delays and high fees, and adoption will plateau.

The industry has spent years developing solutions. Layer-2 networks, rollups, sharding, and parallel processing all represent attempts to push TPS higher. Solana’s recent struggles aside, the fact that multiple blockchains now approach or exceed 100,000 TPS shows that technical solutions exist.

The Bottom Line

Bitcoin prioritized decentralization and security over speed. That choice defined its character, but it also revealed crypto’s original scalability limits. Modern blockchains learned from that constraint. Solana, SUI, BSC, and upgraded Ethereum demonstrate that you can build high-TPS networks while maintaining reasonable decentralization.

The race for transactions per second isn’t over. As millions of new users enter crypto, networks will face even more pressure to handle volume. The winners will be those that balance speed, security, and decentralization without sacrificing any one pillar.