Solana reduces block processing time to 350 milliseconds in network upgrade
Solana speeds up transaction confirmations with latest upgrade
Solana, a blockchain network, has reduced the time it takes to process blocks of transactions from 400 milliseconds to 350 milliseconds. This change was part of a recent upgrade to the Solana mainnet, the live version of its network. A millisecond is one-thousandth of a second.
The upgrade is the first step in a plan to eventually cut this processing time to 200 milliseconds. The goal is to make transactions confirm faster for users.
What the upgrade changes
- Slot time reduced from 400ms to 350ms, making transactions confirm faster.
- An epoch—a set period of time on the network—now takes about 42 hours instead of 48.
- Validators, the computers that process transactions, now change turns every 1.4 seconds instead of 1.6 seconds.
- The upgrade does not increase the total number of transactions the network can handle per second.
Official details from Solana
The upgrade is part of a proposal called SIMD-0525, which was approved and merged on May 14. According to the proposal, shorter slot times reduce the time users wait for transaction confirmations. The Solana Foundation stated that the rollout can be paused if too many validators fail to produce blocks on time.
Solana developers plan to make three more 50-millisecond cuts, eventually reaching a target of 200 milliseconds. The next target is 300 milliseconds, but no date has been set for this change.
What this means for users
Faster slot times mean users will see their transactions confirmed more quickly. However, the upgrade does not increase the total number of transactions Solana can process each second. The change also limits how long a single validator can delay or rearrange transactions before the next validator takes over.
Solana’s network has seen a rise in non-vote transactions—transactions that do more than just support the network—since the start of the year. The network has also made other improvements, such as increasing the amount of work that can fit into each block and adding a new validator client to improve reliability.
What is still unclear
- No specific date has been set for the next reduction to 300 milliseconds.
- Developers will monitor the network’s performance before proceeding with further cuts.
Why faster transaction confirmations matter
Faster confirmations can improve the experience for users and applications built on Solana. For example, decentralized finance (DeFi) apps, which allow people to lend, borrow, or trade without a bank, may see quicker responses. However, the upgrade does not directly increase the network’s capacity to handle more transactions at once.
