Solana 
$84 (SOL) experienced a significant upward movement today, rising by 3% to reach $211, in spite of the generally stagnant market conditions. This surge is largely attributed to the increased interest in the altcoin, driven by the new consensus protocol update known as the Alpenglow. Consequently, Solana’s daily trading volume surged by 43%, climbing to $12.7 billion, as the price tested the $212 resistance. Investor sentiment also peaked, reaching the highest in 11 weeks.
Alpenglow Promises Enhanced Speed and Efficiency
Developed by Anza with the official designation SIMD 0326, the Alpenglow update proposes a shift from Solana’s existing Proof of History protocol with Tower BFT to a new system. The community vote commenced between epochs 840 and 842, with each epoch lasting approximately two days. The primary objective of the update is to drastically reduce block validation times from 12.8 seconds to 150 milliseconds. This progress has propelled SOL’s price back above the $200 mark.
Approval of the update requires a two-thirds affirmative vote. Currently, the participation rate stands at 9.87%, with 9.76% in favor of the update. If approved, Solana will become a more competitive network for high-frequency applications, financial solutions, and institutional use. However, certain community members have expressed concerns about decentralization and reliability, recalling past network issues.
Increased Interest in the Altcoin
The speed advantages promised by the update are expected to create new opportunities for gaming, social platforms, and real-time financial applications. These opportunities are anticipated to boost demand for SOL by enhancing blockchain transactions. According to Santiment data, positive sentiment towards SOL has reached the highest level in 11 weeks, with a ratio of 5.8 positive comments for every negative one.
Meanwhile, Coinglass data indicates a 6.78% increase in open interest (OI) for Solana futures, surpassing $13 billion. Greg King, CEO of REX Financial, made a notable statement highlighting Solana’s potential to become a strong alternative player to Ethereum 
$2,246 in the stablecoin market.
