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Throughput

performance
scaling

The rate at which a blockchain processes transactions or data over time, often measured in TPS or bytes per block.

1
definition

Throughput measures how much useful work a network completes in a period of time. For blockchains, that work may be simple transfers, smart contract calls, data blobs, or batched Layer 2 operations.

2
tradeoffs

Higher throughput is useful only if ordinary nodes can still validate and relay the chain. Designs that increase block size, shorten block times, or move activity to rollups must balance capacity against latency, bandwidth, storage, and decentralization.

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