Anza has just announced Alpenglow – the largest upgrade in Solana's history, aiming to reduce latency to 150 milliseconds, bringing this blockchain to response speeds comparable to Web2. Could this be the turning point for Solana to overcome its weaknesses and lead the race?


Alpenglow: The Largest Core Change in Solana

In the whitepaper dated 05/20/2025, the research team #Anza – including Quentin Kniep, Kobi Sliwinski, and Roger Wattenhofer – describes Alpenglow as a 'turning point' for Solana. This upgrade changes the core protocol, with two main components: Votor (consensus) and Rotor (data distribution), aimed at increasing speed and efficiency.


Votor: A New Consensus Protocol

Votor replaces TowerBFT, improving the consensus mechanism by allowing nodes to communicate directly, rather than transmitting information through a delayed 'gossip' model. The finalization process occurs through two parallel voting rounds:



Round 1: A block is completed if 80% of the stake agrees.
Round 2: If Round 1 fails, the block is still completed with 60% stake.

Both rounds run simultaneously, selecting the faster branch. Thanks to this design, the processing time for each block is reduced to 100-150 milliseconds, on par with Web2 applications like social media or online games. The founder#solana , Anatoly Yakovenko, commented on X: 'Alpenglow effectively addresses both bandwidth and efficiency with a simple, understandable design.'

Rotor: Replacing Proof-of-History

Rotor replaces Proof-of-History (PoH), optimizing data distribution. Retaining the Turbine technique (splitting blocks into many data shards), Rotor simplifies data transmission through a single relay layer, automatically adjusting speed based on the node's stake. This allows blocks to transmit quickly, lightly, and more resource-efficiently.


Remaining Challenges: Network Standstill and Centralization

Though there are high expectations, Anza admits #Alpenglow has not fully addressed the infrastructure issue, particularly the risk of network standstill – a weakness that has previously drawn criticism for Solana. The reason is that Solana currently only has one main validator client (Agave) maintained by Anza, creating centralization risk: if Agave encounters a security flaw, the entire network could be paralyzed. However, the new validator client Firedancer from Jump Crypto, expected to launch its mainnet this year, promises to increase diversity and fault tolerance.


Impact and Prospects

With Bitcoin ($104,000) and Ethereum ($2,600) growing, cryptocurrency fund inflows reached $3.4 billion last week, and projected accumulation of $330 billion into Bitcoin by 2029, Alpenglow may help Solana ($146) solidify its position. If Firedancer successfully implements in the next 1-2 years, Solana could overcome its weaknesses, compete with Web2, and lead in blockchain speed.


Conclusion: Is Solana Ready to Break Through?

Alpenglow is Solana's bold step, reducing latency to 150 milliseconds thanks to Votor and Rotor, challenging Web2 speeds. Although it has not fully resolved the network standstill issue, with Firedancer and growth potential, Solana promises to usher in a new era for blockchain.


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