The Finality Calculator: Analyzing and Quantifying Filecoin's Finality Guarantees

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2603.01307v1
• Date: Sun, 01 Mar 2026 22:26:52 GMT
• Title: The Finality Calculator: Analyzing and Quantifying Filecoin's Finality Guarantees
• Abstract summary: We provide a practical algorithm that only requires visibility into the blocks produced by honest participants.<n>We demonstrate that, under typical operating conditions, the sought-after error probability of $2-30$ is achievable in approximately 30 rounds.
• Score: 1.3177681589844814
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Abstract: In this paper, we analyze the finality of the Filecoin network, focusing on dynamic probabilistic guarantees of tipset permanence in the canonical chain. Our approach differs from static analyses that consider only the worst-case scenario; instead, we dynamically compute the error probability at each round using the live chain history, providing a more accurate and efficient assessment. We provide a practical algorithm that only requires visibility into the blocks produced by honest participants, which can be implemented by clients or off-chain applications without any change to Filecoin's consensus mechanisms. We demonstrate that, under typical operating conditions, the sought-after error probability of $2^{-30}$ is achievable in approximately 30 rounds, a 30x improvement over the 900 rounds that the network currently encodes as a fixed threshold. This finding promises to expedite transactions and enhance network efficiency, and lays the foundation for further analysis of other DAG-structured blockchains.

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