Business · Cryptocurrency · published 2026-09-26 · via Cryptonomist

Solana’s Alpenglow consensus goes live on devnet with faster settlement target

Solana’s developer network has switched to Alpenglow, a new consensus protocol developed by Anza, after activation at epoch 1167. The change replaces TowerBFT with a Votor voting system and targets transaction finality of 100 to 150 milliseconds, down from roughly 12.8 seconds. Alpenglow is running on devnet and testnet, but a mainnet-beta launch date has not been set.

Expanded Detail

Anza’s Alpenglow went live on Solana’s devnet at epoch 1167 after a 17-minute countdown, following testnet’s earlier switch. The upgrade replaces TowerBFT with Votor, a voting design created with ETH Zurich researchers and approved via SIMD-0326. It moves validator coordination off-chain.

The protocol targets finality between 100 and 150 milliseconds, versus about 12.8 seconds previously. Its “20+20” fault model is meant to preserve stability if 20% of validators are offline and another 20% are under attack. Devnet and testnet now run Alpenglow; mainnet-beta timing remains unset.

Context

If Alpenglow reaches mainnet, traders, merchants, and developers of speed-sensitive apps could see near-instant settlement, potentially improving confidence in blockchain payments. Validators may face new coordination demands. Because mainnet timing is unset, these effects remain speculative and limited to devnet/testnet testing for now.

Expanded detail and Context are AI-generated analysis; the linked article remains the authoritative source.

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This summary is Al-enhanced to contain extended analysis and broader social context. The original is {NAME); the linked article is the authoritative source. Original headline: “Solana’s blockchain upgrade cuts transaction finality from 12.8 seconds to 150ms.” Browse more stories.