Over 98% of validators voted in favor of the new consensus protocol
The Solana blockchain is preparing for one of its most significant upgrades yet after validators overwhelmingly approved the Alpenglow consensus protocol in a governance vote concluded Tuesday.
According to results shared by the Solana Foundation, more than 98% of participants voted yes, with 52% of the stake casting ballots—well above the 33% quorum threshold required.
100x Faster Transaction Finality
The upgrade will reduce transaction finality from over 12 seconds to just 150 milliseconds, a near 100-fold improvement in speed.
“At these speeds, Solana could realize Web2-level responsiveness with L1 finality, unlocking new use cases that require both speed and cryptographic certainty,” the Solana Foundation said in an August 21 blog post.
The Alpenglow framework replaces Solana’s existing TowerBFT and proof-of-history systems with two new components:
- Votor, designed to dramatically reduce finality time.
- Rotor, which replaces proof-of-history timestamping and accelerates data transfers between validators.
Together, these changes are expected to position Solana as a financial infrastructure capable of operating at internet speed, making it more competitive with Web2 systems.
Governance, Adoption, and Policy Moves
The governance process, which began on August 21, saw only 1% of participants vote against the upgrade, while less than 1% abstained.
Meanwhile, Solana’s influence is extending beyond technology. Earlier this year, the Solana Policy Institute was launched to educate US policymakers on blockchain applications and advocate for favorable regulation. The group has also pledged $500,000 toward the legal defense of Tornado Cash developers Roman Storm and Alexey Pertsev.
A Pivotal Moment for Solana
With transaction finality now approaching real-time speeds, industry analysts say Solana could attract new applications in payments, gaming, and financial markets where both speed and security are critical.
The Alpenglow implementation underscores Solana’s ambition to cement itself as a next-generation blockchain infrastructure, potentially setting the stage for broader adoption in both consumer and enterprise markets.
Disclaimer
This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. Cryptocurrency trading involves risk and may result in financial loss.