Solana has planned to roll out its Alpenglow upgrade on Wednesday, October 21, in what is set to be its biggest network upgrade since 2020. The update promises to make transactions final in 150 milliseconds, around 40 times faster than the current six seconds, and change how network validators confirm transactions, potentially cutting their costs.
Alpenglow mode 🏔️ https://t.co/0VNnAbtPmr
— Solana (@solana) October 21, 2026
The update is set to make the payments and transfers on the blockchain much faster. If the proposed speed on the main network is met, users of this blockchain will be able to get their transaction confirmed at blinding speeds, making it more attractive to trading platforms and payment processors.
The new upgrade will modify the process by which validators, computers that check transactions and agree on the validity of transactions, confirm transactions. Previously, validators used to record their votes on the blockchain, and transactions were only finalized after multiple validators voted on them, a process that took six seconds.
https://t.co/phGE4HhN8J
— Anza (@anza_xyz) October 20, 2026
With the new update, validators will batch their votes into certificates that will finalize transactions with a single or double confirmation. The expected speed is said to be less than the time it takes to blink an eye.
The new speed upgrade will be particularly beneficial to traders. With prices changing every second, there is hardly a time to finalize a trade quickly enough. With faster confirmations, cryptocurrency exchanges and payment processors can also clear deposits faster, a significant improvement over competitors like Ethereum, which takes 13 minutes to finalize transactions.
The update will also affect how transaction numbers on the blockchain will be reported. Robin Nordnes, CEO and founder of Raiku, a trading infrastructure built on Solana, expects the numbers of transactions reported by the blockchain to drop significantly this week. However, he clarified that it would not be a reason to panic as the validation votes that previously counted as transactions will now occur off-chain and only be used to certify transactions. The trading activity on the network is still expected to pick up.
We like fast finality.
Alpenglow tomorrow. ⛰️ https://t.co/bwKaJY0dgC
— Solana (@solana) October 20, 2026
The new update will also make Solana a cheaper option for its validators, people or organizations that run powerful computers that verify transactions on the blockchain. Currently, validators are required to pay around 2 SOL, the blockchain’s cryptocurrency, every day to offset the costs incurred when voting on transactions. With the new update, validators will be paid 0.8 SOL per epoch, a 24-hour period, to cover their expenses. This means their costs will be reduced by around 60%.
The update process has been long and involved, with the test network being restarted six times since May, with one failed attempt to adopt the update before it was successfully rolled out. However, the actual upgrade process will not affect the main network as it will be rolled out on a copy of the network, meaning no one’s funds will be at risk.
The rollout process is expected to begin with epoch 1064. Now everyone’s waiting for the big day, and whether Solana’s Alpenglow will actually deliver the speed promised on its main network. If the promise holds, the network will be significantly more attractive to applications that require rapid transaction finalization.
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