Blockchain throughput has increased more than 100 times in five years, a16z claims it needs predictable inclusion and ordering

The venture capital firm a16z crypto published an article stating that blockchain throughput has increased more than 100 times in five years, with some production systems now capable of processing tens of thousands of transactions per second. The article indicates that throughput alone cannot explain when transactions will settle; financial markets require predictability, including guarantees or censorship resistance, as well as ordering guarantees, to ensure transactions settle on time and operate under rules that participants can understand in advance.

The article claims that resilience means no single operator controls access. a16z researchers introduced the concept of Strong Chain Quality, reserving block space to allow effective transactions to enter through multiple routes. Ordering rules must be clear, such as priority fees or venue rules, to avoid MEV and achieve fair price time priority. Additionally, privacy must be achieved through cryptography before execution, hiding intent until it is included in the final transaction, allowing the market to be auditable without real-time previews of unexecuted orders.