Top 7 Cryptocurrencies with High Transaction Speeds

Solana is one of the top cryptocurrencies with the highest transaction speed and was launched in March 2020 with the motive to solve different scalability issues faced by multiple blockchain platforms. It stands out on the top of transaction speed with a theoretical maximum of 65,000 transactions per second (TPS). This impressive feat is achieved through a combination of innovative technologies like Proof-of-History (PoH) and Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanisms.

PoH allows the network to verify the order of transactions without relying on timestamps, significantly boosting efficiency. This rapid transaction speed makes Solana ideal for applications requiring real-time processing, such as decentralized finance (DeFi) and blockchain-based games. Compared with various leading Blockchain networks, Solana’s high transaction speed offers the fast and seamless execution of smart contracts and transactions.

Avalanche is a brand new kind of blockchain platform. It’s designed to be super fast for transactions, keeping costs low, and allowing different blockchains to talk to each other. Launched in September 2020, it uses a special method called Avalanche Consensus Protocol (ACP) to make things work. This lets Avalanche handle transactions much faster by creating mini-networks on the fly to reach an agreement, basically running things in parallel.

Avalanche is one of the top contenders in the list of high transaction-speed cryptocurrencies, with a speed of around 4,500 transactions per second (TPS). The transaction fees are also very low compared to various other popular cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Bitcoin. So, this feature makes it a top choice for users who are willing to make small payments with fewer transaction charges.

Algorand is a decentralized Blockchain-based platform formed in 2017 by MIT Professor Silvio Micali, focusing on the objectives of scalability, faster speed, and more security. It has become one of the top cryptocurrencies with high transaction speed by offering a remarkable 6,000 transactions per second (TPS) capability. Earlier it was only capable of doing 1,000 transactions per second, but with an upgrade of the platform in June 2021, its transaction speed got boosted by 5 times and reached the number of 6,000. This remarkable achievement is reached by its unique Pure Proof-of-Stake (PPoS) mechanism.

With the help of these transactions are confirmed and irreversible as soon as they are included in a block. This feature makes Algorand particularly attractive for applications requiring real-time settlements and low latency, such as micropayments and fast-paced transactions. It’s important to remember that while Algorand shows a high TPS, real-world conditions may cause slight variations.

Unlike all other crypto coins, Polygon follows a bit different approach to get a high transaction speed. It acts as a “sidechain” to Ethereum, a popular but scalability-challenged blockchain. Ethereum moves very slowly in terms of transactions, but Polygon moves with a rapid 65,000 transactions per second (TPS). On Polygon’s sidechain, a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism enables quick block confirmations, which accounts for this remarkable speed.

With Polygon’s lightning-fast speed and the security of the well-established Ethereum network, this creative solution provides the best of both platforms. Polygon’s sidechain strategy makes it an appealing alternative for developers looking for a scalable and secure platform for building decentralized applications, even though some may view its dependency on Ethereum as a disadvantage.

Unlike other blockchains with a fixed speed, Cosmos exhibits a modular architecture that allows individual blockchains built on its network (called “hubs” and “zones”) to achieve varying levels of transaction throughput. Some zones within the Cosmos ecosystem can potentially handle upwards of 10,000 transactions per second (TPS), making them ideal for high-volume applications. The secret technique behind Cosmos’ scalability lies in its Tendermint Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) consensus mechanism. This efficient system streamlines block validation, allowing zones to process transactions rapidly. Additionally, Cosmos employs a technology called Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol, enabling seamless communication and asset transfer between zones.

The Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus process, which allows validators to be chosen based on the quantity of cryptocurrency they hold and stake, is how Cosmos achieves its high transaction speed. This removes the requirement for energy-intensive mining, which is present in some other Blockchain networks’ Proof of Work (PoW) consensus algorithms.

Fantom joins the list of cryptocurrencies with high transaction speed by enabling 2,500 transactions per second (TPS). Mostly all the blockchain platforms rely on a single process or algorithm to make their transactions faster and more secure, but Fantom has something special named “Lachesis.” This innovative Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) system operates like a complex web of transactions. Each transaction points to the ones it validates, creating a structure that allows for parallel processing.

To ensure security and prevent foul play, Fantom utilizes a technique called Asynchronous Byzantine Fault Tolerance (aBFT). This acts like a network watchdog, ensuring everyone agrees on the validity of transactions even if some validators are unavailable or malicious.

Other currencies focus on general blockchain transactions, but Helium prioritizes the transfer of data for Internet of Things (IoT) devices. With managing the complete network load, it offers a transaction speed of 1,000 transactions per second (TPS). In this process, all the devices on the Helium network spread their data packets amongst each other.

While comparing with different blockchain platforms, the number of transactions may sound low but overall it focuses on the optimized needs of IoT devices. This focus on speed and machine-to-machine communication makes Helium a key player in building a robust and efficient network for the ever-expanding world of IoT devices.

As a general result, a cryptocurrency that has the highest transaction speed is termed the most efficient one. This also means that the greater the transaction speed, the faster the data flow from one party to another. But there’s one very important point to note, multiple factors affect the transaction speed such as block size, block time, network traffic, and transaction fees.

There are three other primary measures too, for estimating the transaction speeds of the cryptocurrencies:

• Network Load: Greater the network load, more slower will be the transaction speed.
• Transaction Complexity: If there are certain technicalities in the transaction to be ensured, then transaction speed will be affected.
• Block Size and Block Time in which it is getting mined.

In the current landscape of cryptocurrency, transaction speed is one of the primary factors based on which users choose their preferred platform. The cryptocurrency transaction speed directly impacts usability and adoption, and it also enhances the user experience through instant fund transfers, real-time financial transactions, etc.

High transaction speed improves the overall efficiency of the process including the user’s time and money, by enabling them to be personally and commercially successful. You can also save more money by trading these coins faster on some of the best low-fee crypto exchanges. In the same way, slow transaction speed wastes a lot of time for the users and the businesses, and multiple opportunities are missed such as sales lead loss, customer dissatisfaction, etc. Therefore, high transaction speed is a must for the effective functioning of decentralized apps and smart contracts.