Proposal Suggests Solana May Remove 60 Million Compute Unit Block Cap After Alpenglow, Could Raise Throughput But Favor Larger Validators

• Remove 60M compute unit cap per block to let block size scale with validator hardware

• Proposal SIMD-0370 builds on Alpenglow’s skip-vote feature to keep consensus under heavy load.

• May increase throughput but could favor well-funded validators and raise centralization risks.

Solana block cap removal aims to scale throughput with validator hardware; learn impacts and trade-offs, read expert context and next steps.

What is Solana’s block cap proposal?

Solana block cap proposal SIMD-0370 would scrap the network’s 60 million compute unit cap per block and allow block size to expand dynamically, tying capacity to validator performance rather than a fixed protocol limit. The change aims to increase throughput and let faster validators pack more transactions into blocks.

How would removing the compute unit cap affect throughput and validators?

Removing the compute unit cap lets high-performance validators include more transactions in a block, increasing peak throughput. Smaller validators can use skip votes to abstain from blocks they cannot process, preserving consensus. However, operators with larger hardware could earn proportionally more rewards, potentially concentrating stake and reducing validator diversity.

Why are developers proposing to scrap the 60 million compute unit cap?

Proponents, including the Firedancer team at Jump Crypto, argue the current cap artificially limits capacity and forces performance to be below what validator hardware can deliver. The proposal says the network’s throughput should reflect validator capabilities instead of an arbitrary ceiling.

What are the main risks and trade-offs?

Key concerns include potential centralization, as larger operators with high-end hardware may capture more transaction fees and rewards. There are also technical risks: oversized blocks could increase propagation delays, and if many validators skip voting, security assumptions could be strained.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will Alpenglow make this possible?

Yes. Alpenglow introduces skip votes and reduces block finality from about 12.8 seconds to roughly 150 milliseconds. Those features enable validators to abstain from blocks they cannot validate, which the SIMD-0370 proposal relies on to allow variable block sizing.

Who is behind the proposal and what context matters?

The proposal SIMD-0370 was submitted by the Firedancer team at Jump Crypto. Jump Crypto is the digital assets arm of Jump Trading Group. Other industry mentions in the broader context include Forward Industries, Galaxy Digital, and Multicoin Capital as participants in Solana ecosystem financing, referenced here as plain text.

How to evaluate the proposal

Follow these steps to assess adoption and impact.

1. Review SIMD-0370: Read the full proposal text on the network’s governance repository and assess technical rationale.
2. Monitor validator client updates: Check which validator implementations plan to support dynamic blocks and skip votes.
3. Analyze centralization metrics: Track stake distribution and reward concentration before and after any change.
4. Test in beta environments: Prefer staged rollouts and performance testing under realistic loads.

Key Takeaways

• Dynamic scaling: Scrapping the 60M compute unit cap ties capacity to validator hardware, boosting potential throughput.
• Economic trade-off: Faster validators could earn more fees, risking reward concentration and centralization.
• Dependency on Alpenglow: Skip votes and faster finality introduced in Alpenglow are foundational for safe implementation.

Conclusion

The Solana block cap proposal aims to remove the 60 million compute unit limit and let blocks expand with validator performance, potentially unlocking higher throughput while creating centralization and propagation trade-offs. Stakeholders should weigh technical tests, validator diversity metrics, and phased rollouts before adoption. Monitor governance threads and client releases for next steps.

Published: 2025-09-29 · Updated: 2025-09-29 · Author: COINOTAG