Solana's Alpenglow Hits Second Testnet, 100ms Finality in Sight

Key Takeaways

• Solana switched on Alpenglow on testnet Sept. 24 and devnet Sept. 25, replacing its old TowerBFT system with Votor.
• Alpenglow aims to cut Solana’s finality time from 12.8 seconds to just 100-150 milliseconds.
• Anza hasn’t set a mainnet launch date yet, and Firedancer and Frankendancer still need to add Votor support.

Solana Retires Its Old Consensus Engine on Two Public Networks

Solana just pulled off something that would have sounded like science fiction in its early days. Its Alpenglow consensus overhaul is now operating on two public test networks, with a design targeting irreversible settlement in roughly one-tenth of a second.

That’s a far cry from the approximately 12.8 seconds the network currently needs for economic finality. Co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko celebrated the devnet countdown with five words. “You are not ready for this.” Yet the real test is still ahead, and the machinery responsible for securing billions in assets hasn’t made the switch.

TowerBFT Gets the Ax After a 17-Minute Countdown

Anza, the outfit behind Solana’s Agave validator client, activated Alpenglow on public testnet Sept. 24. Following a 5,000-slot countdown lasting approximately 17 minutes, the transition finished at slot 444,625,255. The final TowerBFT block carried 82% of stake. An Alpenglow genesis block followed, retiring the previous consensus system on that cluster and handing finalization duties to Votor.