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Analysis

What You've Missed at Solana Accelerate

Crypto phones, policy talks, technical reveals, and more from Solana's NYC conference this week.
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May 23, 2025 • 3 min read

Solana Accelerate 2025, currently taking place in NYC, has witnessed a packed house, a week of shipping, and a slate of announcements that showcased how Solana builders are thinking about the future of the chain.

It also just so happened to coincide with a nice, green week for the markets, as Bitcoin ticked upwards, lifting the entire crypto mood.

Here’s what has stood out so far this week 👇

🏔️ Anza Makes Waves

In the biggest technical reveal of the week, Anza, a Solana Labs spinout, proposed a new consensus protocol called Alpenglow.

Instead of requiring two-thirds of stake to finalize blocks (as BFT systems do), Anza is introducing:

  • Votor – a voting protocol where just 60% participation is enough for finality
  • Rotor – a refined, lower-latency way to disseminate data across the network

What does this mean? If adopted, Alpenglow could give Solana sub-200ms block finality – on par with traditional web infra and leagues ahead of most other L1s. The update excited many in the Solana community, though it also drew some critiques over centralization concerns.

via Anza

⛓ Chainlink’s CCIP Goes Live

Another big win: Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) is now live on Solana mainnet.

That means Solana apps can now securely move data and tokens between Solana and 57+ other chains, unlocking access to $19B in cross-chain assets.

This is a massive unlock for DeFi protocols, stablecoin bridges, and tokenized RWAs moving into the Solana economy.

📲 Solana Mobile’s Seeker Ships August 4

Solana Mobile is scaling.

Not only did they confirm Seekers will ship globally on August 4, they also announced:

  • The SKR token to power the mobile app ecosystem
  • TEEPIN, a decentralized mobile security architecture
  • Open platform for OEMs to build crypto-native devices

👾 Farcaster Joins Solana

Farcaster, the decentralized social network built on Optimism, officially added Solana support – a big move for ecosystem interoperability – and one that brings Mini Apps into the Solana ecosystem.

🇺🇸 DC Policy Crew Hits the Stage

Earlier today Crypto made it to the Hill… or rather, the Hill came to crypto.

Senator Bill Hagerty, Senator Rick Scott, and Representative French Hill all took the stage to discuss the current state of U.S. crypto regulation with Solana Institute's Kristin Smith.

Their presence signaled that Solana is no longer just a tech or culture play—it’s now a force in policy circles too.

🧾 0xDesigner Talks Onchain Identity

@0xDesigner gave a live talk anonymously—no face, no name—about how much can be inferred about someone simply by analyzing their onchain behavior.

He challenged devs to think of wallet activity not just as data, but as narrative, especially for product design and user experience.

👯‍♀️ The Crowd Was Real

Lastly, attendance was no joke. Momentum felt high across the board, and the week delivered on that energy with real substance.

Kyle Samani’s tweet showed it best:

Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This newsletter is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.

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