How does finality in Avalanche compare to traditional blockchains?

• A. Slower than traditional blockchains and requires many confirmations.
• B. Finality is achieved after a fixed number of confirmations on every block.
• C. Finality is achieved only after a hard fork.
• D. Near-instant finality (sub-second) once a supermajority of validators agrees.

Answer: (D)

The main idea being tested is how Avalanche reaches finality quickly. Avalanche uses a consensus process where validators repeatedly vote in rounds, and once a supermajority agrees on a decision, that choice becomes final. This happens in sub-second time under normal conditions, so transactions settle almost instantly once there is broad agreement.

This is different from traditional blockchains, where finality is probabilistic and depends on waiting for several blocks to be mined. The risk of a fork means you typically wait for a number of confirmations to feel secure, which can take minutes or more. In Avalanche, no fixed number of confirmations is needed, and a hard fork isn’t required for finality—the network converges to a single outcome once enough validators agree.

So, the best description is that finality is near-instant (sub-second) once a supermajority of validators agrees.