Try Quests to earn FLOWPolygon Block Performance
Introduction
A layer-1 network is another name for a base blockchain. Ethereum (ETH) and Solana are examples of layer-1 protocols. We refer to them as layer-1 because these are the main networks within their ecosystem. In contrast to layer-1, we have off-chains and other layer-2 solutions that are built on top of the main chains. It’s important to differentiate Polygon from other Layer 2 solutions like Arbitrum and Optimism since Polygon is technically a sidechain. The difference is that Layer 2 solutions are fully secured by the Ethereum platform, while side chains use their own consensus algorithms. So, sidechains are independent, EVM-compatible solutions that run in parallel with the mainnet. When it comes to Polygon, it is based on the Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, which has multiple benefits over PoW — such as faster transactions and lower gas fees. Polygon also applies a layer 2 scaling technology named Plasma, as well as ZK-rollups and Optimistic Rollups, the scaling solutions that allow the platform to validate transactions almost in real-time. When choosing Layer 2, if you prioritize scalability, then Polygon would appear to be a reasonable choice as it is faster compared to Optimism and Arbitrum. If a project is developing a complex solution with a comprehensive toolset, Polygon is again a better choice. Besides this, you need to understand that Polygon has become a stand-alone protocol that can function without the main network.
Layer-1 networks which are compared with Polygon in this article are Ethereum, Solana, Harmony, Flow, Avalanche, and Near Protocol.
Methods
- All the data for analysis is extracted from “fact_blocks” or “blocks” tables of different blockchains from Flipside Crypto.
- Novel Polygon tables, Arbitrum tables, and Optimism tables have been added recently to Flipside crypto, thus in order to have a comparison between all selected chains, data recorded from 2022-06-23 till 2022-07-21 have been assessed in this analysis (there is a lack of data prior to this time in Arbitrum tables).
- The smallest time unit used to measure the time between blocks is “second,” therefore having 0 time interval between two blocks means that the time between blocks is shorter than 1 second.
The following charts show the average, maximum, and minimum time between blocks per second on different blockchains from 2022-06-23 till 2022-07-21. As it can be seen, Polygon has the longest average time between blocks (2.25997 seconds) after Ethereum and Harmony, among 9 chains. Polygon and Solana are in joint 6th place in the maximum time between blocks (25 seconds), with only Near and Avalanche having shorter time than them.
Conclusion
Key findings based on the data recorded on 9 different chains from 2022-06-23 till 2022-07-21:
- Polygon has the third longest average time between blocks (2.25997 seconds).
- In terms of the longest duration between two blocks on a chain, Polygon and Solana have the sixth position (25 seconds, between blocks number 30341759 and 30341760 on Polygon).
- Among the examined chains, Polygon has the longest minimum time between two blocks (2 seconds).
- Polygon has the third highest average number of transactions in a block (72.37).
- With 1250 transactions on block number 30051411, Polygon holds third place in the highest amount of transactions in a block.
Additionally, 30051411 and 30028508 are the two blocks with more than 1200 transactions in them on Polygon, and also there are 17 blocks with more than 1000 transactions in them on Polygon.
Contact Data
- Email: kit.luna@outlook.com
- Discord: Kit#6600
- Twitter: @KitCryptophile
It is readily apparent that Arbitrum has the maximum recorded time between blocks among analyzed chains. Below, you can see the screenshots from Arbiscan showing the data for two blocks with maximum time between them. Also, you can see the information for blocks 30341759 and 30341760 from Polygonscan, which have the longest recorded time between two blocks on Polygon.
Below, you can see all submitted records for the time between blocks per second on different chains from 2022-06-23 till 2022-07-21. As it is evident, on Polygon, Harmony, and Avalanche, most of the records are in the “2-seconds” group; and on Flow and Near in the “1-second” group. The time interval between two blocks on Arbitrum and Optimism is shorter than 1 second in more than 90% of the records. Ethereum has the most balanced distribution of records in different sets of time intervals in comparison with other chains, the “1-second” set has the highest number of records, but it includes only 6.74% of all recorded time intervals between blocks on Ethereum.
Below you can see the highest numbers of transactions in a block on different blockchains from 2022-06-23 till 2022-07-21. Bar chart format has been used to present the data because it presents the range of transaction count and dispersion of related blocks at a glance. The charts are self-explanatory and supplementary notes are not required to make them easier to read.
The following charts show the average and the maximum number of transactions in blocks on different blockchains from 2022-06-23 till 2022-07-21. As it can be seen, Polygon has the highest average number of transactions (72.37) in a block after Solana and Ethereum. Polygon has the same position in the maximum number of transactions in a block with 1250 transactions on block number 30051411.
As mentioned in the methods, the smallest time unit used to measure the time between blocks is “second,” therefore having 0 time intervals between two blocks means that the time between blocks is shorter than 1 second. As it is evident, Polygon has the highest minimum time interval between two blocks among analyzed chains.
