How many BTC TPS is there?

Despite its status as the leading cryptocurrency, Bitcoin's transaction rate is constrained by its proof-of-work mechanism, with an actual TPS typically ranging between 3 and 5.

Oct 07, 2024 at 02:12 am

How Many BTC Transactions Per Second (TPS) Are There?

1. Understanding Blockchain Transaction Rate

A blockchain's transaction rate refers to the number of transactions it can process and confirm within a specific period, usually per second. Bitcoin (BTC) uses a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism, which inherently limits its TPS capacity.

2. Bitcoin TPS Capacity

• Block Size: Each Bitcoin block's size is limited to 1.0MB approximately.
• Block Time: Blocks are generated by miners every 10 minutes on average.

Therefore, the theoretical maximum TPS for Bitcoin is:

TPS = (Block Size / Average Transaction Size) / Block Time

Assuming an average transaction size of 250 bytes and a block size of 1.0MB:

TPS = (1.0MB / 250B) / 10 min = 7 transactions per second

3. Actual TPS

Due to fluctuations in transaction size and block fullness, the actual TPS for Bitcoin may be lower than the theoretical maximum. According to BitInfoCharts, the actual TPS for Bitcoin has typically ranged between 3 and 5 TPS in recent times.

4. Comparison with Other Blockchains

Compared to other blockchains using different consensus algorithms, Bitcoin's TPS is relatively low. For example:

• Proof-of-Stake (PoS) Blockchains: Blockchains like Solana and Polkadot can achieve TPS in the thousands or even tens of thousands.
• Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs): Blockchains like IOTA and Nano do not use blocks and have potentially unlimited TPS.

5. Limitations of PoW

The PoW consensus mechanism is energy-intensive and requires specialized hardware (ASICs) to participate in mining. This high barrier to entry and scalability limitations contribute to Bitcoin's low TPS.

6. Scalability Solutions

To enhance Bitcoin's scalability, various solutions have been proposed, such as:

• Layer-2 Networks: Solutions like the Lightning Network operate on top of Bitcoin and process transactions off-chain, increasing effective TPS.
• SegWit: A soft fork that reduces the block size overhead, allowing for more transactions to fit in a block.
• Schnorr Signatures: A probabilistic signature algorithm that can reduce transaction size and increase block capacity.

Conclusion

Bitcoin's TPS capacity is currently around 3-5 transactions per second, limited by its block size and block time. While PoW offers security and decentralization benefits, it also poses TPS limitations. Ongoing research and development aim to address Bitcoin's scalability challenges through innovative solutions to enhance its usage in larger-scale applications.