QuickNode Opens Ethereum Fast Confirmation Beta to Mainnet RPC Users

QuickNode opened a beta Nov. 4 for Ethereum’s Fast Confirmation Rule on mainnet RPC endpoints, giving developers access to faster block confirmations through the safe tag without changing Ethereum’s network.

Developers can enable FCR on a mainnet endpoint and continue querying the tag. A fast-confirmed block is estimated to be available in about 13 seconds. That estimate covers block confirmation, not full finality or a guaranteed completion time for a bridge transfer. Ethereum slots last 12 seconds, while network finality takes at least about 13 minutes.

FCR uses validator attestations to identify blocks before the network reaches finality. The rule depends on two conditions: no more than 25% of validators are Byzantine, and honest validators’ attestations arrive by the end of a slot. If either condition fails, a block that received fast confirmation can be reorganized.

That risk separates fast confirmation from full finality. The rule provides an earlier confirmation signal, but it does not shorten Ethereum’s protocol-level finality period. A 12-second slot gives the rule a short window for validator attestations; full finality continues to take substantially longer.

QuickNode’s beta expands access beyond Gnosis’ bridge deployment. Gnosis uses FCR for transfers from Ethereum to Gnosis Chain, with bridge validators running their own Ethereum nodes to determine fast confirmation. Transfers from Gnosis Chain to Ethereum still wait for Gnosis Chain finality.

Gnosis’ bridge typically confirms a block in about 12 seconds, close to one Ethereum slot. QuickNode’s estimate is about 13 seconds. Both figures describe the earlier confirmation signal, rather than Ethereum’s full finality period.

Ethereum researcher Julian Ma wrote after the announcement, “FCR adoption is now unblocked.”