In the case of cryptocurrencies, the term 'fast' serves to market. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is promoted as the faster version of Bitcoin. However, many users complain that BCH transactions are not that fast. The fine point is, however, this: fast to claim versus fast to settle.
Fast to claim deals with how soon a transaction is considered to be valid in the network. When paying with BCH, the transaction is instantly broadcast across the network, and the recipient's wallet can show, "Received," within seconds. A merchant may then choose to accept the payment with zero-confirmation transactions, meaning they do not wait for that transaction to confirm a block. For the user, this feels instant, but at this moment, the payment is not final—for example, if you hand a cashier a check that he may accept but that check has not cleared yet at the bank.
On the other hand, Fast to settle means finality-when the transaction is safely in place, completely locked, and irreversible. On BCH (just like on Bitcoin), this only happens once the transaction is included in a block that comes roughly every 10 minutes. Generally, users would wait up to six blocks-or about one hour-for larger amounts to ensure security to the maximum. Where BCH squares off with the competition: greater blocks create less congestion, but settlement time is still tethered to the Bitcoin 10-minute block cycle.
The contrast is starker when examining alternative chains. Other networks, like Solana Polygon, or Optimism produce blocks every couple of seconds, making fast to claim almost synonymous with fast to settle. On the other hand, Lightning Network (a layer 2 solution for Bitcoin) provides not just instantaneous settlements but instantaneous finality, too, as the transaction traces on the network only sporadically touch the main chain.
Well, in the end, "fast" in crypto is not really a universal description of anything. BCH is fast-to-claim, but when it comes to fast-to-settle, it is still constrained by the 10-minute rhythm. So it is not just some speedy claim by one or the other to the right of network choice; instead, it should be defined in terms of what-the speed of claim or the speed of settlement?
