Solana Pushes Alpenglow Testnet Rollout to Cut Transaction Finality to 0.15 Seconds From 13
Summary
- Solana said it has begun a major network upgrade aimed at cutting transaction finality to 0.15 seconds from about 13 seconds.
- Anza said it would shorten validators' consensus process through the Alpenglow upgrade, the introduction of the Votor protocol, and a recommendation to use Agave 4.3.
- The upgrade could improve crypto exchange deposit processing, asset transfers between blockchains, and payment service speeds, but Alpenglow's official launch date has not yet been set.
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Solana is pursuing a major network upgrade aimed at cutting transaction finality to 0.15 seconds from about 13 seconds.
CoinDesk reported on September 23 that Anza, a Solana development firm, is moving to introduce its Alpenglow upgrade to a public testnet. The upgrade is designed to improve the blockchain's consensus protocol.
At the core of Alpenglow is a plan to sharply reduce the time it takes for transactions to become irreversible. The goal is to bring finality down to 0.15 seconds from roughly 13 seconds currently.
To do that, the network will replace its existing TowerBFT consensus system with a new voting protocol called Votor. Under the current system, validators record votes on-chain and finalize transactions through multiple steps. Votor is designed to let validators exchange votes directly and reach consensus in one or two rounds.
Faster finality could improve deposit processing at crypto exchanges, transfers of assets across blockchains and the speed of payment services. Users will not need to change wallets or go through separate procedures.
Alpenglow was previously tested for more than four months on a dedicated test network. The move to a public testnet is meant to determine whether the range of validators and services already operating on the Solana network can transition stably to the new consensus system.
Validators taking part in the test must use Agave 4.3, Solana's main validator software. Anza recommended that version to all mainnet validators on September 21.
Firedancer and Frankendancer, alternative validator clients developed by Jump Crypto, do not yet support Alpenglow testing. As a result, the initial transition tests will center on Agave.
Anza's development schedule includes a provisional plan to activate some features included in Agave 4.3 on mainnet on September 28. That does not mark Alpenglow's official launch date, and the public testnet transition has not yet been fully completed.
Suehyeon Lee
shlee@bloomingbit.ioI'm reporter Suehyeon Lee, your Web3 Moderator.