Stellar unveils fee-free network that hit 7.02 million payments per second in early benchmarks

The foundation says it has not yet decided how the new network will relate to the existing Stellar blockchain Stellar has unveiled a fee-free network that reached 7.02 million payments per second in early benchmarks. That figure came from eight machines running inside a single validator. The more interesting detail is what the foundation has not settled. It says it has not yet decided how this new network will relate to Stellar itself, which leaves a fairly large question mark next to a fairly large number. Seven million, with a few asterisks Start with the benchmark. Early testing produced 7.02 million payments per second, spread across eight machines that together make up one validator. Think of a validator as one checkpoint in a network of checkpoints. This test measured how fast a single, well-equipped checkpoint could process payments. It did not measure a sprawling global network where many independent operators must agree on every transaction. The benchmark is also described as internal, and it has not yet appeared in public analytics. Until it does, outside observers have no independent way to verify it. Then there is the fee-free part. Stellar’s existing network is already...