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Transaction Finality

Robinhood Chain transactions reach finality in stages. Understanding them helps you choose the right confirmation level for your application — fast soft confirmations for everyday UX, full Ethereum finality for high-value operations.

Stages of finality

StageWhat happensTypical latencyGuarantee
Soft confirmationThe sequencer accepts, orders, and executes your transaction and returns a receipt.Sub-secondThe sequencer has committed to your transaction's inclusion and ordering. Reversible only if the sequencer posts a batch with a different transaction order.
Posted to EthereumThe sequencer batches transactions and posts the batch to the Ethereum (L1) Inbox.MinutesOrdering is now fixed — your transaction can only be reorganized if Ethereum itself reorganizes.
Ethereum finalityThe L1 block containing the batch reaches finality on Ethereum.~13 minutes after postingFull finality — your transaction inherits Ethereum's security and is irreversible.

Choosing a confirmation level

  • Everyday UX (most apps): the soft confirmation from the sequencer is fast and reliable — sufficient for typical interactions.
  • High-value or irreversible actions: wait until the transaction is posted to Ethereum, or for full Ethereum finality, before treating it as settled.

Withdrawals to Ethereum

Finality is distinct from the withdrawal delay. Moving assets from Robinhood Chain back to Ethereum via the canonical bridge is subject to a 7-day challenge period — a requirement of Arbitrum's fraud-proof system, separate from transaction finality. See Bridging for details.

Reorganizations

Once a transaction is posted to Ethereum, it cannot be reorganized unless Ethereum itself reorganizes. Before posting, soft-confirmed transactions rely on the sequencer for the order it returned — in normal operation this is reliable, but it is not yet backed by Ethereum's security.

Further reading