Overview
Ethereum's current finality time, between 13 and 19 minutes under normal conditions, is a legacy of the Gasper design.
With fast finality we want to significantly reduce this time while preserving all the properties that support Ethereum's values such as dynamic availability, accountable safety and decentralization of the validator set.
Why it matters
Faster finality:
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improves user experience by making cross-chain swaps and Layer-2 deposits much quicker;
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improves application security by reducing the need for complex risk management of long finality times;
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improves protocol security by shortening the window during which an attack has to succeed; and
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lowers the cost of capital for solvers and bridges, in turn reducing costs for users.