nicspics · Solana · Crypto made simple
Tech: Proof of History, Firedancer, Alpenglow
Proof of History
A clock built into the chain. In Anatoly Yakovenko's words: “you can build a recursive SHA-256 function, and it'll generate a data structure that represents that time has passed” (Epicenter Podcast #312, Nov 6, 2019, CC BY 3.0, excerpted). Each hash step proves time passed, so validators agree on order without waiting on each other.
The whitepaper's theoretical ceiling is up to 710,000 transactions per second on a 1 gbps network. That's a design figure, not live performance (Solana whitepaper v0.8.13).
Firedancer
- Aug 16, 2022: Jump Crypto and the Solana Foundation announce Firedancer, a second validator client written in C (Jump Crypto).
- Nov 6, 2022: a live demo hits 1.2M raw TPS on synthetic transactions (Solana Foundation).
- By Dec 2025: the hybrid Frankendancer ran on more than 26% of validators (Solana Compass).
- Dec 12, 2025: full Firedancer reaches mainnet (The Block).
- For Alpenglow: Firedancer and Frankendancer don't support the migration, so their operators run Agave for the switch. Anza named Agave v4.3.2 the recommended release on Oct 16, 2026 (Solana Compass; CoinDesk, Oct 14, 2026).
Alpenglow: Wednesday, Oct 21, 2026
- When: epoch 1064, which starts at about 15:00 UTC (around 11 AM ET). TowerBFT runs the first 5,000 slots, then Alpenglow takes over about 18 minutes later at slot 459,653,000 (solana.com/upgrades/alpenglow (checked Oct 17, 2026)). Epoch timing drifts, so check on the day.
- What changes: Votor replaces TowerBFT, and votes move off-chain into certificates. Rotor replaces Turbine in a later phase. Apps, programs and fees stay the same (solana.com/upgrades/alpenglow (checked Oct 17, 2026)).
- Side effect: with vote transactions gone, headline transaction counts can drop even if user activity stays flat (CoinDesk, Oct 14, 2026).
- Safety: Alpenglow has no token, no airdrop and nothing to claim or migrate. Any “migrate” or “claim” link is a scam.
Drawn to scale from zero. 12.8 s ÷ 0.15 s ≈ 85× faster, on Solana's own figures. The 150 ms is a target, not yet measured on mainnet.
Source: solana.com/upgrades/alpenglow (checked Oct 17, 2026)
Network strength, Q3 2026
Source: Blockworks, Solana Token Holder Report Q3 2026 (published Oct 15, 2026)
Q3 2026 was a record. Daily active addresses averaged 2.3M, up 16% on Q2 (same source). Slot times stepped down from 400 ms to 250 ms across three activations in Q3.
Source: Blockworks, Solana Token Holder Report Q3 2026 (published Oct 15, 2026)
Not financial advice.