Algorand has released a new upgrade to its proof-of-stake network that significantly reduces its block time. This is the network’s largest decrease in block time by percentage and comes as blockchains look to boost performance amid competition.
The new upgrade cuts block time from 3.8 seconds to 3.3 seconds and Algorand maintains its instant transaction finality. This means application development on the PoS network is now faster and cost-efficient.
Following the news, the native Algorand token, ALGO, rose to near $0.13 before trading slightly lower on Thursday afternoon.
Cardano and BNB Chain have also introduced their own upgrades to improve network speed and security. Cardano’s upgrade 8.1.1 aimed at speeding up network processes during epoch transitions for better performance. BNB Chain’s Luban hard fork, introduced last month, sought to improve network speed and security.
Algorand’s latest upgrade also includes other enhancements such as Simulate, a tool that allows developers to simulate smart contracts and test for bugs and other issues before deploying on the mainnet. Another tool is Conduit, which allows for flexible and affordable access to data.
Paul Riegle, Chief Product Officer at Algorand, noted that these new capabilities mean developers can quickly build and deploy higher quality dApps to the market, leveraging faster, efficient testing and customised data sets.
