The Solana community overwhelmingly voted in favor of the long-anticipated Alpenglow upgrade, marking a crucial step towards one of the most significant technological changes in the network’s history.

According to Solana Status on X, as of Monday, 98.27% of SOL stakers who participated in the vote approved this proposal, with just 1.05% dissenting and 0.36% abstaining. Notably, 52% of the network’s stake engaged in the voting process.

What to Know:

• This upgrade aims to implement a new consensus protocol intended to significantly enhance transaction finality and overall network efficiency.
• Key components of the Alpenglow upgrade include Votor and Rotor, set to replace Solana’s existing systems, Proof-of-History and TowerBFT.

Currently, Proof-of-History timestamps transactions to maintain their order without impairing network speed, whereas TowerBFT is responsible for managing the voting process among validators. The enhancements brought by Alpenglow will transform both systems, with Votor expected to reduce transaction finality from over 12 seconds down to approximately 150 milliseconds, delivering near-instant confirmation for users. Rotor, which will be rolled out later, aims to decrease data transfer needs among validators—a critical upgrade for demanding applications like DeFi and gaming.

With this decisive approval, Solana is set to roll out the upgrade, which is anticipated to enhance the ecosystem’s speed, resilience, and scalability.