II. Transaction Time

Transactions in traditional finance can take several days to process, especially for cross-border payments. For example, international wire transfers can take anywhere from three to five business days to settle, during which time funds are inaccessible to the sender.

Here’s a simplified flow showing how traditional financial systems are burdened by intermediaries and lengthy processes.

• “Bill.com” states that international wire transfers can take up to five business days to settle, depending on various factors such as time zones and banking systems involved

• “Western Union” also notes that international wire transfers typically take between one and five days, with potential delays due to human error or public holidays.

Lengthy transaction time has also affected the productivity of decentralized exchanges. DEXs operate on blockchain networks, which means every transaction is recorded on-chain. This process inherently involves longer confirmation times compared to off-chain transactions.

For example, transactions on popular Ethereum DEXs like Uniswap and SushiSwap can take anywhere from 2 to 20 minutes to be processed, depending on network conditions and gas prices. During periods of high congestion, transaction times can exceed 30 minutes.

During periods of high trading activity, the number of pending transactions can increase dramatically. For example, on July 19, 2024, the average Bitcoin confirmation time reached 1,366.4 minutes (approximately 23 hours) due to congestion, illustrating how busy networks can lead to significant delays.