ENDGAME: Defining a "real-time" blockchain

We often use the term "real-time" when referring to MegaETH, but what does that mean?

It is our intention to create a blockchain that minimizes the user feedback loop to web2-comparable levels.

We define that "loop" in our whitepaper as the transaction lifecycle, illustrated below:

The transaction lifecycle colorized by the items under the extent of control of the system builders

Put simply, it is the time it takes from your transaction being submitted to the chain to the effects of that transaction being displayed by, and acted upon, by the ecosystem.

A resting sell order submitted to the onchain CLOB
An open bid on a hot NFT
A player changing in-game zones

All normal onchain interactions today that have an extended lag time due the pace of state updates.

How can a chain reduce that lag time?

If it's a chain utilizing the EVM, then it only has a few component it can actually impact:

Reduction of block times
Tooling which assists the ability of nodes to keep up

How big of an impact are those two items?

Let's have a look. Below, we'll:

Compare popular EVM block times
Normalize the things outside of a chain's control (e.g. user latency-to-node)
Overlay thresholds from Nielsen's widely-cited "Usability Engineering" research paper, delineating the points where user experience fundamentally changes

Visualized:

All latency times are normalized to 100ms, which is the avg of half the world's circumference

A few observations:

Today's block times are very-clearly the largest contributor to the "feedback loop" from the start beginning of this thread
Even "fast" EVM chains today break a users flow of thought (~1s)
Even for co-located solutions minimizing latency on popular chains, "instantaneous" perception is an impossibility due to their block times

Conclusion

Our target is not only to reach real-time, but to build a system that can do it in a consistent and stable manner so that the everyday user experience is on-par with web2 solutions.

Did this thread give you an idea? Build with us! Are you just excited to play with real-time apps? Join the community!

The future of blockchains will be rabbit speed.