What Is ‘Probabilistic Finality’ in PoW?

Probabilistic finality means that a transaction is never 100% final but becomes exponentially more final as more blocks are mined on top of it. In PoW, a transaction is considered secure after a certain number of confirmations (e.g. six blocks).

While a chain re-organization is theoretically possible, the economic cost and computational power required to reverse a transaction after many confirmations make the probability of reversal negligible.

How Does ‘Probabilistic Finality’ Differ from ‘Economic Finality’?
How Does the ‘Economic Finality’ of PoS Compare to the ‘Probabilistic Finality’ of PoW?
How Does Increasing the Number of Block Confirmations Reduce the Risk of a Successful Reorg Attack?
How Many Confirmations Are Typically Considered Sufficient for Transaction Finality?
How Does ‘Finality’ Differ between PoW and PoS Blockchains?
How Many Confirmations Are Typically Recommended for a Large-Value Transaction and Why?
What Is ‘Transaction Malleability’?
How Many Confirmations Are Typically Considered Safe for High-Value Bitcoin Transactions?

Glossar