GlossaryAdvanced
Consensus Finality
The point at which a transaction or block is considered permanently, irreversibly settled.
Consensus finality is the point at which a network's consensus rules consider a transaction or block permanently settled and effectively irreversible under normal operation, as distinct from a transaction that's merely included but could still theoretically be reorganized away.
Different networks achieve finality differently — some offer probabilistic finality that strengthens with more confirmations, others offer a more absolute, single-block finality through their specific consensus design.
Examples
- A network with fast, absolute finality doesn't require waiting through multiple confirmations for certainty.
- Probabilistic finality strengthens gradually as more confirmations accumulate.