Solana Boosts Block Capacity 66%, Enhancing Network Throughput

Solana's recent upgrade has significantly boosted its block capacity by 66%, from 60 million to 100 million compute units. This upgrade, known as SIMD-0286, was activated on July 29, 2026, and aims to improve the network's throughput during peak demand periods. The increase in block capacity will benefit DeFi and payments applications, allowing for more transactions per block without altering slot times or existing applications.

The upgrade has been tested thoroughly and builds on previous improvements. Over 70% of validators have adopted XDP networking, which helps prevent new bottlenecks. This expansion is expected to enable Solana to handle high-volume trading more reliably as demand continues to grow.