The Solana blockchain has released an urgent update, v3.0.14, for its validators. According to Solana Status, the patch should be applied to all its Mainnet-Beta validators. The release applies to all validators, including staked and unstaked validators running test nodes.
The recent patch follows a series of patches in the previous months on Solana’s v3 validator client series, which aim to improve the network’s long-term performance, resilience, and stability. The latest patch includes a series of developments that will be activated. The recent launch of the SKR token underscores the need for a more robust and stable network to support the growing activity across the network.
Solana’s Alpenglow and Firedancer upgrades shape the network’s growth
Solana blockchain released a critical patch for its v3 validator client series, addressing a potential threat similar to those seen in previous emergency releases. The update did not include a changelog; nevertheless, these patches are typically installed before users can detect any issues.
The Solana network released Alpenglow and Firedancer upgrades last year, aiming to address congestion issues, validator centralization, and state bloat. The network introduced new opportunities for DeFi, NFT, and tokenized RWAs.
The Solana blockchain released the Alpenglow upgrade in September 2025, replacing its Proof of History and TowerBFT consensus mechanisms with Votor and Rotor. According to Solana’s report, the new mechanisms deliver 150ms block finality and support multiple concurrent leaders for parallel execution. The upgrade is planned for mainnet deployment this year.
The Firedancer upgrade, which introduced a C++-based validator client from Jump Crypto running alongside the Agave client, was released in Q1 2025. The integration uses modular tiles for parallel processing, targeting 1 million TPS. The Agave 3.0.6 release, recommended for general use by Mainnet Beta validators, was released in October of last year.
Solana blockchain development services were simplified with Firedancer’s API support for high-throughput dApp development. The high TPS achieved supported memecoin surges without congestion and enabled fast transactions in the Phantom wallet, making it ideal for DeFi and NFT trading.
ZK Compression reduces storage costs, enabling cost-effective launches
The Solana development team released a ZK Compression v2 tool that uses zero-knowledge proofs to compress state data. The tool achieved 70-1,000x compression tested in Q3 2025. The tool stores data on-chain and off-chain, reducing storage costs while maintaining composability.
Other fixes developed in 2025 included doubling blockspace, congestion fixes, inflation reduction, and economic upgrades. The network reduced inflation from 8% to 1.5% in Q4 2025, and vote fees were eliminated, saving validators roughly 80% MEV tools. Lastly, confidential transfers and privacy were enabled in June 2025, enhancing transactions for Solana DeFi protocols and RWAs.
SOL’s value was boosted by reducing inflation, increasing TPS, and institutional adoption. The network received approval for roughly six ETFs in October, driven by the Alpenglow institutional upgrade finality.
Memecoins now enjoy low fees and high throughput while creators benefit from ZK Compression’s cost-effective launches. The upgrades boosted DEX volumes to approximately $111 billion in December and over $1 billion for the entire year 2025.
According to data from SoSoValue, the network has raised roughly $816 million in institutional capital through SOL ETFs launched in October. So far, Solana’s total locked value is $8.8 billion according to DefiLlama data, with 24-hour revenue of $1.08 million across the chain. The network’s daily active addresses now exceed 75 million, reflecting the significant growth achieved to date.
SOL’s price peaked at roughly $240 in September with an average 24-hour volume of $7.5 billion. At the time of publication, SOL was trading at $136, down 29% over the past year and 1.6% on the daily chart.
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