Aptos' 94ms Block Time Cements High-Throughput Blockchain Leadership

Aptos' Velociraptr (AIP-131) upgrade has significantly reduced block time by up to 40%, achieving a new benchmark of approximately 94 milliseconds, according to data from the Aptos Foundation forum and blockchain analytics firm ChainspectAptos Transaction Count and Block Time - Ecosystem - Aptos Forum^[1]. This enhancement, part of a broader initiative to optimize the network’s scalability and performance, has been accompanied by a surge in transaction volume, with the platform processing over 870 million successful transactions in the past six months. The upgrade marks a critical step in Aptos’ strategy to solidify its position as a high-throughput blockchain, with June alone recording 177.6 million transactionsAptos Transaction Count and Block Time - Ecosystem - Aptos Forum^[1].

The technical improvements are underpinned by Aptos’ Layer 1 architecture, which now supports a theoretical maximum throughput of 160,000 transactions per second (TPS) and a finality time of 0 secondsAptos [TPS, Max TPS, Block Time & TTF] | Chainspect^[2]. These metrics position Aptos as one of the fastest blockchains in the industry, with real-world performance reflecting an average of 44.91 TPS in June 2025. The network’s decentralization is further reinforced by a nakamoto coefficient of 19 and 150 active validators, with $877 million in staked value securing the Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanismAptos [TPS, Max TPS, Block Time & TTF] | Chainspect^[2].

Developer activity remains robust, with over 1,145 developers contributing to 116 repositories and 48,752 commits since the platform’s launch in October 2022Aptos [TPS, Max TPS, Block Time & TTF] | Chainspect^[2]. The Aptos Improvement Proposals (AIPs) framework, which includes AIP-131, continues to drive protocol evolution. AIP-131, focused on validator coordination and block production efficiency, is now in the implementation phase, with a phased rollout beginning in September 2025. Full deployment is scheduled for October, pending community governance approvalAptos Improvement Proposals (AIPs) - GitHub^[3].

The upgrade’s impact on user adoption is evident in the ecosystem’s growth. In June 2025, the network recorded 288,000 active users and 7.3 million transactions in a single month, reflecting a 13.5 million transaction week in late AugustAptos Transaction Count and Block Time - Ecosystem - Aptos Forum^[1]. These figures highlight Aptos’ ability to maintain low fees—averaging $0.0001 per transaction—while scaling to accommodate growing demand. The platform’s on-chain governance model, which allows stakeholders to vote on AIPs, has streamlined decision-making, with AIP-110 and AIP-111 recently lowering governance proposal thresholds to 300 million APTAptos Improvement Proposals (AIPs) - GitHub^[3].

Validator onboarding for the Velociraptr upgrade is progressing as planned, with the first phase of node operators expected to go live in September. The full deployment by October will enable the network to process blocks at sub-100ms intervals consistently, a 40% improvement over pre-upgrade benchmarksAptos Transaction Count and Block Time - Ecosystem - Aptos Forum^[1]. This timeline aligns with Aptos’ roadmap to compete with other high-performance blockchains, leveraging its Move programming language and modular design to attract developers and enterprises.