Circle2026-09-28 20:33:58Circle, Solana Foundation and MoonPay to host Dev Day Cafe in San FranciscoCircle said on X that it will hold a Dev Day Cafe event on Sept. 29 at Radhaus in Fort Mason, San Francisco, together with the Solana Foundation and MoonPay. The program will feature product demos, a live demonstration of Circle Agent Stack, and discussions focused on smart payments and the smart economy. The announcement names the venue, date and partner organizations, and outlines the main agenda items disclosed so far. No additional event details were provided in the source beyond the scheduled demonstrations and discussion topics.250
Solana2026-09-28 17:26:41Solana Foundation payments executive says Solana remains at the forefront of blockchain paymentsJamal, general manager of payments at the Solana Foundation, said in a post on X that people are increasingly recognizing blockchain-based payments as some of the best and newest infrastructure for global payments, with a particular role in cross-border transactions. He added that Solana has consistently been at the forefront of that area. The remarks were cited by Techub News in a brief update published on Sept. 28, 2026. No additional details were provided in the source about the post beyond Jamal’s statement on the direction of blockchain payment infrastructure and Solana’s position within it. The comment focused on payment rails built on blockchain networks and highlighted cross-border use cases as a key part of the broader global payments market.240
Solana2026-09-28 15:52:39Solana Foundation says 200ms slot target is now an economic trade-off, not just a technical oneThe Solana Foundation said in a new report that the network’s skip rate has remained stable even as slot times have been reduced, suggesting validators as a group are still able to keep pace with faster block production. Based on those results, the question around a 200-millisecond slot target has shifted away from simple technical feasibility and toward a cost-benefit discussion. According to the report, shorter slot times would let Solana produce blocks faster, reduce the duration of consecutive network stalls, and narrow the window in which a single validator can continuously control transaction ordering. The foundation said the p99 of the longest consecutive leader period for a single validator has fallen from about 3 seconds to about 2 seconds, reducing the room for value extraction through transaction ordering. The report also pointed to trade-offs. Faster block production increases validator voting latency, with the impact more visible in Asia and South America. The Solana Foundation said it remains cautious about the 200ms goal before the Alpenglow upgrade, while adding that current test results show the network already has the technical basis to keep exploring that target.270
Solana2026-09-27 15:30:46Solana Foundation launches $500,000 grant program for ecosystem projectsThe Solana Foundation said on X that it has launched a new grant program for ecosystem projects with a total allocation of $500,000. The initiative is aimed at supporting innovative teams building on the Solana blockchain. Areas covered by the program include decentralized finance, infrastructure and developer tools. The foundation said applications for the grants will open soon, while additional details will be released through its official channels. The announcement outlines the scope and funding size of the program, but does not yet include a specific application timeline or further eligibility requirements.250
Solana2026-09-26 05:06:44Solana brings Alpenglow to a second public test network, targeting 150 ms finalitySolana’s planned Alpenglow consensus upgrade is now live on both devnet and testnet, giving application teams a place to test before any move on chains handling real funds. Anza, the Solana development company, said on Sept. 25 that the developer network had completed its transition, while testnet had moved over a day earlier. The Solana Foundation’s upgrade page shows Alpenglow activated on both networks. The upgrade is designed to cut transaction finality from about 12.8 seconds to roughly 150 milliseconds. That would reduce the wait time for actions such as releasing deposits after a transaction or letting payment apps tell merchants that a payment has been completed. Alpenglow changes how validators reach consensus on the network record. Instead of embedding votes as transactions inside blocks, validators exchange votes directly, reducing the process to one or two voting rounds. One side effect is that some Solana activity charts may show lower figures, because total transaction counts that include validator votes will fall even if actual payments and transaction volume stay the same.300
Solana2026-09-26 01:31:55Solana Foundation names former Binance executive Rachel Conlan as chief strategy officerThe Solana Foundation has announced two senior hires as it pushes deeper into institutional adoption and payments. Former Binance Global Chief Marketing Officer Rachel Conlan has been appointed chief strategy officer, while former Polygon Labs executive Jamal Raees will join as general manager of payments. According to the foundation, the appointments are meant to speed up institutional use of the Solana network and expand payment-related activity on the chain. Conlan will oversee institutional partnerships, ecosystem growth, and go-to-market strategy. Raees, meanwhile, will focus on payments, including stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and the infrastructure required to position Solana as a financial settlement network. Alongside the appointments, the foundation disclosed several network metrics for 2026. It said Solana has processed more than $5 trillion in stablecoin transaction volume, with over $4.5 billion in on-chain real-world assets and more than $620 million in tokenized equity supply. The update was published by Techub and attributed to NewsBTC.250
CatchBack2026-09-22 00:39:45CatchBack raises $8 million in seed round led by Foundation CapitalCollectibles trading platform CatchBack said it has closed an $8 million seed round, with Foundation Capital leading the financing. Participants in the round included Y Combinator, Robinhood Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, and Solana Foundation. The company said the new capital will be used to build products tied to collectibles trading. The announcement was reported by ChainCatcher in a 7x24 news update.310
Solana2026-09-19 13:08:16Solana cuts block time by 17% in latest speed upgradeSolana has completed a new speed upgrade that reduced block time by 17%, bringing it down from about 400 milliseconds to roughly 330 milliseconds. According to the update cited by Techub News, the change is aimed at improving data freshness rather than expanding network capacity. The Solana Foundation said faster block times can improve the user experience, especially in applications where quick confirmation matters. The report cited Decrypt as the source of the information. The upgrade focuses on how quickly fresh data becomes available on the network, not on increasing throughput or adding more capacity.290
