Since its launch in 2020, Solana has stood out from other programmable blockchains for its performance. Transactions process in seconds, and transaction fees are well under $0.01. Successful blockchains are constantly evolving, and Solana is no exception. This year is shaping up to be a big one for Solana, as there are two major technical upgrades scheduled. The first is Alpenglow, a new consensus protocol to replace its current system of validating transactions. While Solana's existing consensus protocol is fast, it has some limitations. Transaction finalization takes about 12 to 13 seconds, for starters. With ... (full story)