Solana activates Alpenglow, targeting 150ms transaction finality

Solana activated Alpenglow on mainnet on Oct. 21, replacing the network’s consensus system and aiming to make transactions final in about 150 milliseconds instead of 12.8 seconds. The change could let you see payments settle much sooner, though that speed is a target, not a guarantee. The Solana Foundation’s Alpenglow guide says wallets and apps work as before.

What changed in Solana’s consensus system?

Alpenglow replaces TowerBFT, the system validators used to agree on transaction order and confirm blocks. Its first phase, Votor, has been live since epoch 1064, which began on Oct. 21 at about 13:36 UTC.

Under TowerBFT, validators recorded votes as transactions, and a block became final after enough votes accumulated over 32 slots. With Votor, validators send votes directly to each other and combine them into certificates. A block can then become final after one or two voting rounds, according to the Foundation.

The upgrade changes how validators agree and how quickly transactions become final. It does not change how transactions execute: the Solana Virtual Machine, transaction formats and fees remain the same.

How could the change affect you?

If you send transactions or use an app that reads account balances, you do not need to migrate anything. Faster finality could make a payment feel more immediate, or help an exchange treat a deposit as settled sooner.

The 150-millisecond figure is a target, not a result users can count on in every situation. Cointelegraph’s report on the launch said the network dashboard showed 6.6-second finality at the time of publication. Wallet processing and an exchange’s own checks can also add waiting time.

Some activity charts may show fewer transactions after the change because validator votes no longer appear in blocks. That drop does not by itself mean people are making fewer payments or trades. The Foundation says fees and transaction execution were untouched.

What remains for Solana to roll out?

Alpenglow’s second phase, Rotor, is planned for a later release and has no scheduled date. It is intended to replace Turbine, the system that distributes block data across the network; Votor handles voting and finality.

For now, watch the network’s measured finality as it runs under real conditions, and watch for a schedule for Rotor. The 150-millisecond target will matter most if the live network can sustain it.

Source material

• Solana Foundation’s Alpenglow guide — solana.com
• Cointelegraph’s report on the launch — cointelegraph.com