Alpenglow changes how validators, the computers that check transactions, agree on the network’s records. They will exchange votes directly instead of recording those votes as transactions inside blocks, the batches of transactions added to the blockchain. Agreement can then take one or two voting rounds.
Removing those votes will also make some Solana activity charts fall. Transaction totals that include validator votes will shrink even if users make just as many payments and trades. The Foundation has told data providers to adjust their comparisons.
Services that build transaction histories also need to keep competing candidate blocks separate until the network selects one. Mixing their contents could produce an incorrect record.
Applications that simply send transactions and read account balances require no migration, according to the Foundation’s guide.
The speed figure remains a target derived from simulations, rather than a demonstrated result under live-market conditions. Wallet processing and exchanges’ own deposit checks can add further waiting time.
No firm launch date has been announced for the live network. Anza’s software schedule tentatively allows feature activations to resume Sept. 28, but does not identify that date as Alpenglow’s launch.