Solana Cuts Slot Time to 350 ms in First Phase of Improvement Proposal

The Solana network has successfully implemented its first phase of slot time reduction to 350 ms as part of the improvement proposal SIMD-0525. This change is expected to speed up transaction confirmations on the network.

According to a tweet from SolanaFloor, the upgrade marks the first reduction in slot length since the network's launch. The goal is to reduce latency and increase censorship resistance. To achieve this, the team plans to implement four stages of slot time reductions: 350 ms, 300 ms, 250 ms, and finally 200 ms.

Each subsequent phase has its own activation mechanism and will be implemented sequentially in later epochs. The team also mentioned that they have linked these changes to previously implemented improvements such as Turbine and Replay, which optimized block propagation and client reprocessing.

The price of SOL rose nearly 4.5% following the upgrade, approaching $95. However, it's worth noting that this increase was not solely due to the slot time reduction, as other factors like market sentiment and trading volumes also play a role.