Ethereum customer teams are testing a swift confirmation mechanism that could reduce the time it takes for some Layer 2 networks and exchanges to recognize deposits on the mainnet to around 13 seconds.
The proposed Swift Confirmation Rule (FCR) would reduce “deposit time from Ethereum L1 to L2 or exchanges to approximately 13 seconds, an 80-98% reduction for most L2s and exchanges,” Ethereum researcher Julian Ma he wrote on X
Most users currently employ canonical bridges, where transfers typically wait for multiple block confirmations or full finalization, which can take approximately 13 minutes. However, many exchanges and L2s do not wait for finality, instead relying on “k-deep” confirmation rules that provide no formal guarantees. In the case of a k-deep confirmation, the transaction is considered finalized only after k blocks (where k is a specified number).
Developers say the rule can be applied without requiring a tough fork, although client and API integration are still being worked on. Customer teams are already working on implementations, and once deployed, nodes can start using the rule without coordination across the network. Exchanges, L2 and infrastructure providers are expected to integrate it with minimal changes.
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How FCR works
Instead of counting blocks, FCR evaluates the validator’s attestations to determine whether a block can safely be treated as validated, which solves the sluggish bridging problem.
FCR makes two assumptions: first, the network is swift enough for validator messages to arrive within seconds, and second, no single actor controls more than 25% of the staked ETH. These thresholds are below Ethereum’s more stringent finality conditions, but are considered sufficient for most real-world employ cases.
“When a node detects that more security is needed, it waits longer for a quick block confirmation. This is a feature, not a bug,” Ma wrote.
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Also Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin resonant support for the mechanism, saying it can provide a “hard guarantee” that a transaction will not be rolled back after a single slot, or about 12 seconds, under certain network conditions.
There are still concerns in society
Not everyone is convinced that the FCR will cope in real conditions. User X’s serr excellent that the model relies heavily on assumptions about trust, writing that “an honest majority matters a lot there.”
Another user noted the potential benefits, noting that near-instant confirmations could greatly improve the user experience, but only if these assumptions were consistently validated in practice. “Can these assumptions hold up under pressure?” one user he asked.
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