Ethereum Preconfirmations Get Financial Backing with Puffer's New System

Puffer, a company building transaction infrastructure for Ethereum, has announced that Google Cloud would operate a gateway to receive transactions and guarantee their results before settlement. This system is called preconfirmation, where an operator promises the result early and puts money behind that promise.

The preconfirmation process involves an application accepting an early payment promise and releasing funds while Ethereum's settlement process continues in the background. Puffer wants to put explicit financial backing behind this early promise, using collateral to ensure that operators keep their commitments.

According to Amir Forouzani, CEO of Puffer, a failed preconfirmation would cost the gateway 1 $ETH, which serves as a penalty for breaking the rules. This system aims to give customers more confidence in their transactions, allowing them to spend less time wondering whether their sale went through or if they can use the proceeds.

The service, UniFi network, is still in testing and has not been independently established as the speed paying customers would experience. Puffer's July 2025 technical outline put slashing in a later phase, but the latest answers don't establish when the stated penalty would become enforceable.