‘First fast’ Ethereum scaler Movement peaks at 12K TPS on testnet

Ethereum layer-2 blockchain Movement is aiming to be the “first fast” Ethereum scaler, with its co-founder claiming the network can process nearly double the number of transactions a second compared to its fastest rival at its peak.

Movement’s testnet, launched on July 30, had reached a peak of “over 12,000” transactions per second (TPS) and “in theory, could do 30 to 50 thousand,” Movement Labs co-founder Rushi Manche told Cointelegraph at Korea Blockchain Week.

“We’re gonna be the first fast L2 on Ethereum,” he claimed.

The Ethereum layer 2 with the highest real TPS was Polygon which processed 190 transactions a second, CoinGecko research analyst Lim Yu Qian reported in May, which is far down from its advertised top TPS speed of 7,000.

Solana was the fastest blockchain in terms of real TPS, with 1,053 transactions a second, which Lim noted “only achieved 1.6% of its theoretical maximum speed of 65,000 TPS.”

Manche attributed Movement’s speed to its programming language, Move — Facebook’s invention for its abandoned crypto stablecoin project Diem.

Move can achieve such a high TPS, Manche explained, because it can process multiple transactions at once instead of the typical back-to-back.

“If you have 1,000 transactions, you’re waiting for A, then B, then C, then D to finish. It’s pretty slow,’ he said. “With 1,000 transactions on Move, you can execute them concurrently. All at one time.”

But a blockchain hitting its maximum achievable TPS relies on use and volume — more users doing more transactions more frequently to push up the TPS.

Manche said his chain’s testnet has 44 decentralized apps (DApps) that are boosting its TPS, led in part by Telegram-based Mini Apps that contribute to a tenth of the total TPS volume.

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“People are coming toward more consumer and social applications, which are higher TPS demanding” when compared to decentralized exchanges such as Aave and Curve Finance, he explained.

Some Telegram tap-to-earn game apps have recently exploded in popularity, roping in millions of users and even knocking Telegram’s linked blockchain offline for long stretches.

“People want the ability to use apps in their phone, so we’re seeing a lot of Telegram-based Move apps,” Manche said. “There are tap apps, there’s Mortal Kombat, there’s all these mini-games that all have transaction volume.”

The Movement mainnet has no publicly available launch date, Manche said its “coming up.”

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Additional reporting by Andrew Fenton.