Solana’s Alpenglow Upgrade Earns 99% Approval, Set to Drastically Reduce Block Finalization Time

Jakarta, Pintu News – Solana has officially approved a major consensus upgrade that could redefine the core infrastructure of its network.

This upgrade, known as Alpenglow (SIMD-0326), will replace the current network framework with a near-instantaneous block finalization system. This cuts transaction settlement time from an average of 12.8 seconds to just 150 milliseconds.

This change puts Solana on par with Visa and Mastercard in terms of processing speed-a notable achievement that confirms its ambition to rival traditional payment systems.

Alpenglow Gets Overwhelming Majority Support

Solana’s latest consensus update, Alpenglow (SIMD-0326), has passed the community vote with overwhelming support. The proposal to cut block finalization time from 12.8 seconds to just 150 milliseconds reached quorum with 99.6% support.

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So far, 66.78% of eligible votes have been counted, with 99.9% in favor and only 0.12% against – indicating almost no opposition. This approval paves the way for one of the most ambitious reforms in Solana’s history.

The upgrade positions Solana’s network to deliver transaction settlement speeds on par with Visa and Mastercard, while strengthening its ambition to become the backbone of the global payment system.

How Alpenglow Works

Developed by Anza, a Solana research group, the Alpenglow update proposes a change from the Proof-of-History and TowerBFT systems that have been in use.

At the center of the new system is Votor, a direct voting protocol that allows validators to mark or skip blocks off-chain, then send concise proofs into the network (on-chain).

Blocks will be finalized in one round with approval from 80% of validators, or two rounds with a minimum of 60% approval. The system is designed to achieve confirmation in less than a second, while keeping validator operational costs predictable.

Alpenglow also introduced a fee of 1.6 SOL per epoch, which equates to about 80% of the current voting fee. The funds will be burned to help reduce SOL inflation.

Validators who do not take part in voting or cast conflicting votes risk losing their rewards-even being removed from the active group. Some community members proposed a tiered fee structure based on the number of stakes to ensure fairness of participation.

Current Voting Position

The community vote for the Alpenglow update took place from Epoch 840 to 842, or about four days. To be approved, this proposal requires a two-thirds majority vote.

At Epoch 840, voter turnout was recorded at around 11%, with overwhelming support: 10.6% voted in favor, while only 0.12% voted against.

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While the turnout is still early, the direction of the vote shows strong support from developers and validators-many of whom see Alpenglow as the critical breakthrough needed for Solana to compete in real-time finance, games, and other high-frequency applications.

Why it matters to Solana

The blockchain industry has long grappled with a classic dilemma: decentralization makes networks slow, while centralization sacrifices trust for speed.

Alpenglow is Solana’s answer to that dilemma. By slashing block finalization time to mere milliseconds, the update promises to bring speed on par with traditional financial infrastructure, and expand the boundaries of what decentralized applications (dApps) can achieve.

If passed, this update will cement Solana’s reputation as the blockchain that has pushed the boundaries of consensus mechanisms the most. It would also be a clear example of how next-generation networks are capable of meeting expectations of scale from both institutions and consumers.

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Reference:

• CCN. Solana’s Alpenglow Upgrade Secures 99% Approval To Slash Finality To 150ms. Accessed on September 2, 2025