The crypto community is abuzz with excitement as an upgrade is said to increase the efficiency of the Solana network significantly. SOL, aka the “Ethereum Killer,” is back on the podium after the community got excited over a proposal that seeks to reduce the transaction finalizing time (block finality) to 150 milliseconds.
On August 27, Solana validators opened a poll for the New Alpenglow Consensus Protocol, which seeks to reduce the block finality time from 12.8 seconds to 150 milliseconds. The proposal SIMD-0326 needs more than 33% of validators to vote in favor of it for SOL to implement this upgrade; however, the quorum has not met the set benchmark, as only 10% have voted. The ballot will run through roughly one week, but for now, the results are leaning toward approval, while most stakeholders have yet to participate.
What is block finality?
It is a point where transactions in a block can never be undone and are permanently added to the blockchain. The less time there is, the better, because it stops double-spending and makes the network work better.
How will this upgrade make the Solana ecosystem better?
Instant Settlement: DApps (like DeFi, NFT marketplaces, or payments) can treat final transactions as settled right away, without having to wait for multiple confirmations.
Better User Experience: When people trust transactions faster, payments, trades, and transfers go more smoothly and without any doubt.
Safe Bridges: Cross-chain bridges use finality to tell when money is locked up or let go. A chain reorg could make security very bad (like bridge hacks) without it.
Interoperability: To work properly, protocols that link different blockchains (like Polkadot, Cosmos IBC, or Solana–Ethereum bridges) need to be sure that they will always work.
Predictable Transactions: Finality lets traders, investors, and businesses know that a transaction really happened, so they don’t have to worry about arguments over it.
Market Confidence: Strong finality makes blockchains more appealing to institutions and big users, which could lead to more people using them and higher prices.
What is SOL’s price today?
At the time of publication, SOL is exchanging hands at $211 with a daily trading volume of $12.5 billion, up by 40%. During the past weeks, the token tried to cross above the $210 price level, but it was rejected shortly after it hit this level.
Will Solana hit a new all-time high?
Well, let’s do a quick comparison of the two scenarios highlighted in the chart above. The encircled section on the left shows the last time SOL hit its all-time high of $294. When comparing that with the present situation, everything looks so alike, and a new all-time high might be coming soon. Solana launched into the high $200 zone after being supported close to the $185 support level, and at present, SOL has shot upwards after resting on the support level–a launch pad, if I could call it.
On top of that, SOL is trading inside a bullish ascending triangle, which, when it breaks out, will hit new highs. As such, SOL is well set to hit new all-time highs.
