diff --git a/snow/consensus/snowball/binary_snowflake.go b/snow/consensus/snowball/binary_snowflake.go
index 8bff0de0acff..dae29d183f2b 100644
--- a/snow/consensus/snowball/binary_snowflake.go
+++ b/snow/consensus/snowball/binary_snowflake.go
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ func (sf *binarySnowflake) Initialize(beta, choice int) {
 
 func (sf *binarySnowflake) RecordSuccessfulPoll(choice int) {
 	if sf.finalized {
-		return // This instace is already decided.
+		return // This instance is already decided.
 	}
 
 	if preference := sf.Preference(); preference == choice {