Algorand has upgraded its protocol to reduce block time and make application development on the network faster and more cost-efficient. Paul Riegle, Algorand’s Chief Product Officer, told journalists that the proof-of-stake blockchain’s upgrade will reduce block time to 3.3 seconds from 3.8 seconds, which is the “largest reduction of block time on a percentage basis.” This upgrade comes as many blockchains have introduced improvements to make themselves more attractive for developers, such as Cardano’s latest upgrade this week and BNB Chain’s upgrade last month.
The upgrade also includes a simulator that allows developers to test and simulate issues before deploying their codebase to mainnet and a new plugin framework that allows people to create easy, customizable data. As Algorand’s mainnet nears 30 million blocks and its four-year anniversary, the upgrade incorporates feedback from the developer community. ALGO, the native cryptocurrency for the Algorand blockchain, has increased 4.9% in the past 24 hours to 12.8 cents, according to market data.