10k transactions / second is considerably faster than even ETH isn't it?
How is this possible?
In layman's terms: by pre-scheduling the block-signing and using the delegated proof of stake consensus each block is created on a determined schedule and each block can hold thousands of transactions.
For the more technically minded:
"Graphene, an Open Source, mostly C++, blockchain implementation was originally developed as the foundation of Bitshares, a cryptocurrency exchange marketplace. The source is available in numbers of variations, as it has been forked and adapted many times. The original release is managed by an organization known as Cryptonomex. Graphene is interesting because it is Open Source, but also because it was developed in a very modular fashion, making it adaptable to many different uses. In addition to Bitshares, Graphene serves as the blockchain foundation for Steemit.com, a news aggregation site similar in concept to reddit.com and PeerPlays.com, a gaming site. FollowMyVote.com is another example of a service built on the Graphene blockchain. FollowMyVote uses Graphene to facilitate secure, yet private, internet-based municipal voting. There are many other users of Graphene beyond this sample list."
-Source
Further reading: Lots of articles on Steemit since the Steem blockchain uses the Graphene Framework
Bitshares has a detailed documentation of the DPOS consensus and the speeds available with Graphene
Whoo, that's some intense stuff. Have to put on my thinking cap, and re-read this 3-4 times lol. So how can you schedule for blocks to be signed before they need to be signed?