Share this article
The Protocol: Solana to Get Major Design Overhaul
Also: New Eth Nodes Proposal, Solana Seeker Phone, World Token Sale
Updated May 22, 2025, 7:20 a.m. Published May 21, 2025, 6:57 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
What to know:
This article is featured in the latest issue of The Protocol, our weekly newsletter exploring the tech behind crypto, one block at a time. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Wednesday.
Welcome to The Protocol, CoinDesk's weekly wrap-up of the most important stories in cryptocurrency tech development. I’m Margaux Nijkerk, the Ethereum protocol reporter on CoinDesk’s Tech team.
In this issue:
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
- Solana To Get Major Design Overhaul
- Proposal For New Ethereum Nodes to Make Them Easier to Run
- World Network’s $135 Million Token Sale
- Solana Seeker Mobile Coming Early August
Network news
SOLANA TO GET MAJOR DESIGN OVERHAUL: Solana developers are planning what could be the blockchain’s most ambitious core upgrade to date — one that replaces its current technology stack with a redesigned consensus protocol built for near-instant finality and responsiveness. The new system, called Alpenglow, was unveiled on Monday by infrastructure firm Anza, a Solana Labs spinout. It proposes replacing Proof of History — Solana’s famously unique “pre-recorded clock” system — and Tower BFT, its existing voting mechanism for reaching consensus. — Shaurya Malwa Read more.
PROPOSAL FOR NEW ETHEREUM NODES TO MAKE THEM EASIER TO RUN: Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed a new design to reduce the hardware burden for running a network node, framing it as a step toward a fully decentralized network that doesn’t require sophisticated infrastructure to help maintain. In a blog post, Buterin introduced the concept of “partially stateless nodes,” allowing users to store only a subset of Ethereum’s data, rather than the entire blockchain that clocks in at over 1.3 terabytes (TB).— Shaurya Malwa Read more.
WORLD $135M TOKEN SALE TO A16Z, BAIN CAPITAL CRYPTO: Sam Altman’s blockchain project World Network has raised $135 million in a private token sale of its WLD token. The sale was to venture capital giants a16z and Bain Capital Crypto and will be used to fund network expansion. The funding comes as the group behind the blockchain announced the project's in-app functionalities as well as the WLD token have become available as of earlier this month to U.S. users. — Margaux Nijkerk Read more.
Solana Labs' mobile team plans to ship its Seeker phone starting Aug. 4, in addition to sharing new information about some of its infrastructure framework as well as a new SKR token for its mobile users. The news comes as the new iteration of Solana’s mobile has been in the works for months, with over 150,000 units so far, according to a press release. Seeker was introduced after the phone's first model, Saga, was originally having a hard time selling, creating some uncertainty for its future. But Saga did eventually sell out after crypto users realized they could collect certain token airdrops.
In Other News
- Movement Labs, the scandal-plagued crypto startup backed by Donald Trump’s World Liberty Financial, quietly promised large stakes of its token to early insiders—undisclosed deals that now raise fresh questions about who really holds power behind the scenes. Even before its token launch, Movement Labs committed large portions of MOVE’s supply to a handful of early advisers — arrangements that were never disclosed to investors and only surfaced through internal documents reviewed by CoinDesk. — Sam Kessler Read more.
- Bitcoin clinched a fresh record price of $109,400, surpassing the peak in January around Donald Trump's inauguration. According to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Index, the largest and oldest cryptocurrency hit $109,486 on Wednesday during the early U.S. session. BTC has now surged more than 46% from its April trough induced by mounting fears over global trade war and U.S. tariffs. — Kristzian Sandor Read more.
Regulatory and Policy
- The U.S. Senate voted to move ahead on stablecoin legislation Monday night, removing a procedural barrier to ultimately passing the bill out of the body entirely. Senators easily cleared the 60-vote threshold for the vote, which is intended to just move the legislation to a period of further debate before a final vote series to pass it out of the Senate.— Jesse Hamilton Read more.
Calendar
- May 19-23: Solana Accelerate, New York City
- May 20-22: Avalanche Summit, London
- May 27-29: Bitcoin 2025, Las Vegas
- May 27-29: ETHPrague, Prague
- June 8-22: Berlin Blockchain Week, Berlin
- June 30-July 3: EthCC, Cannes
- July 16-18: Web3 Summit, Berlin
- Sept. 22-28: Korea Blockchain Week, Seoul
- Oct. 1-2: Token2049, Singapore
- Dec. 11-13: Solana Breakpoint, Abu Dhabi
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
Solana’s new phase is ‘much more about finance,’ says Backpack CEO Armani Ferrante
The Solana ecosystem has spent the past year doubling down on a financial infrastructure, Backpack CEO Armani Ferrante told CoinDesk.
What to know:
- Solana’s latest phase looks a lot less flashy than its memecoin-fueled highs, and that may be the goal.
- Armani Ferrante, CEO of crypto exchange Backpack, told CoinDesk in an interview the Solana ecosystem has spent the past year doubling down on a more sober focus: financial infrastructure. A
- fter years of experimentation as the wider crypto industry focused on NFTs, games and social tokens, attention is now shifting back toward decentralized finance, trading and payments.
Top Stories
