Solana Seeks to Solidify Gains with Alpenglow Upgrade

Ethereum and Solana have been gaining traction lately, but one of them is preparing for a major network upgrade while the other awaits a crucial test run. According to recent data, Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) rose by 10.2% last week, reaching $2,694 as of September 25. In contrast, Solana (CRYPTO:SOL) surged by 15.5%, trading at $117.

Solana's upcoming Alpenglow upgrade is scheduled for September 28 and promises to enhance the network's speed and reliability. The new voting protocol, Votor, will replace TowerBFT, reducing transaction finality time from approximately 12.8 seconds to around 150 milliseconds. This improvement will enable faster payment and trading applications.

The Alpenglow upgrade will also increase the network's resilience by raising the threshold for staked SOL going offline from 28.8% to 40%. The developer behind Solana's main validator software, Anza, has met every milestone on time or with minimal delay. However, the September 28 launch date is considered tentative until 95% of staked SOL runs the new version.

In contrast, Ethereum's next upgrade, Glamsterdam, has faced multiple delays and is now targeted for the fourth quarter. The next crucial step involves a test run on the Sepolia test network scheduled for October 6. If this test goes smoothly, it will keep the fourth-quarter target alive, but any further delays could push the upgrade into 2027.

The investment trends also favor Solana, with U.S. spot Solana ETFs taking in new funds for 12 consecutive weeks and holding about 2.6% of all circulating SOL. In contrast, Ethereum faced a $140 million outflow in one week this September, although it has since returned to positive territory.