Latency
Tempo entre enviar uma transaĆ§Ć£o a uma rede e receber a primeira confirmaĆ§Ć£o de que ela foi aceita; mede a rapidez com que a rede responde a uma operaĆ§Ć£o.
Key points
- Latency is the time between sending a transaction to a network and receiving the first confirmation that it was accepted.
- It measures how quickly the network responds and directly affects the experience of anyone making payments or using applications.
- It should not be confused with the network's total capacity, which is about volume, not response time.
What is latency?
Latency is a measure of response time. Applied to blockchains, it refers to the interval between the moment a transaction is sent and the moment the network gives its first confirmation of acceptance. In simple terms, it is how long you wait to know that an operation has started being processed. The lower the latency, the faster the network feels to those using it.
How it works
When a transaction is sent, it is not confirmed instantly. It first needs to propagate among network participants, wait to be included in a block, and then be confirmed. The time until that first confirmation depends on factors such as propagation speed, the interval between blocks, and the current level of congestion. The sum of these factors determines the perceived latency.
It is important to distinguish latency from capacity. Capacity, measured for example in transactions per second, concerns how much volume the network processes; latency concerns how quickly an individual operation gets a response. A network can have high capacity and still show some latency, or vice versa. The two measures describe different aspects of performance and do not always move together.
Latency has a direct practical impact, especially on payments. In a purchase, waiting too long for a confirmation harms the experience and can make certain uses impractical. That is why payment-focused networks aim for low latency, so that a transaction is acknowledged quickly. It is worth remembering that the first confirmation does not always mean full security: depending on the network, more confirmations may be needed to treat a transaction as final, which is a separate consideration from initial latency.
Understanding latency helps assess whether a network is suitable for uses that require a fast response.
Why it matters
Understanding latency helps assess how suitable a network is for payments and applications that require a fast response. For a company processing transactions, the time until the first confirmation directly affects the user experience. This is a technical concept and does not represent any recommendation to operate.
Risks and limitations
Latency measures the time until the first confirmation, which does not always equal definitive security: some networks require more confirmations to consider a transaction final. It also varies with congestion and other momentary factors. In addition, low latency does not replace other network qualities, such as security and decentralization. None of this represents a recommendation to operate.