Ethereum and Solana Upgrade to Boost Speed and Reliability
Ethereum and Solana are set to undergo significant protocol upgrades in the second half of 2026, both aimed at increasing speed and reliability for real-world use.
The Ethereum upgrade, Glamsterdam, follows Pectra and Fusaka, with a deliberate shift back toward improving its base layer (Layer 1). Two proposals anchor it: Enshrined Proposer-Builder Separation (ePBS) and Block-Level Access Lists (BALs), designed to lift Layer 1 capacity by clearing the path toward a gas limit of around 200 million per block.
Solana's Alpenglow, described as the most significant consensus change in its history, replaces two foundational mechanisms: Tower BFT with Votor and Turbine with Rotor. Validator votes move off-chain, freeing space for user transactions and reducing a major cost of running a validator. The upgrade targets an 85-fold improvement in finality time, from roughly 12.8 seconds to around 150 milliseconds.
The two upgrades illustrate different design philosophies: Glamsterdam works within existing consensus, while Alpenglow rewrites Solana's consensus from the ground up. Execution risk remains as both networks target institutional-scale use and speed requirements.