Solana Prepares for Alpenglow Upgrade as Investors Watch Ethereum's Post-Upgrade Pattern
Anza said Solana's Alpenglow upgrade is scheduled to launch on the mainnet on October 21, 2026. The change would replace on-chain voting with certificate-based consensus and target transaction finality near 150 milliseconds. The article weighs whether SOL can avoid the price declines Ethereum saw after two of its last three major upgrades, while noting recent outflows from Solana exchange-traded products.
Anza, a Solana core developer, said Alpenglow will activate on mainnet on Oct. 21, 2026, following an Oct. 13 announcement. The redesign replaces validators' on-chain votes with certificates proving sufficient validator agreement on a block. It targets finality near 150 milliseconds, versus several seconds now, which could aid payment use cases needing near-instant confirmation.
SOL traded at $107, down 9.8% weekly but up 5.3% over 30 days, and 63.5% below its $293 record. Solana ETPs saw outflows on eight of nine October trading days. Ethereum declined 30 days after The Merge and Dencun, but rose after Pectra. Removing voting transactions may also lower reported network activity.
If Alpenglow delivers near-instant finality, merchants and payment users could see faster settlement, while validators may face changed operational incentives. SOL holders and ETP investors may react to upgrade execution and outflows, with price swings affecting retail and institutional portfolios. The shift could also alter how observers interpret Solana's activity metrics, since removing voting transactions may make reported usage look lower even if real payments rise.