Alephium, the only scalable Layer 1 blockchain that utilizes Proof of Work and native sharding technology, officially launched the Danube upgrade on July 15, 2025. This upgrade is a significant milestone in Alephium's roadmap, marking the arrival of faster block times, a mnemonic-free onboarding mechanism, and a more streamlined user experience.
Danube introduces a series of innovations aimed at enhancing the usability of Web3 without sacrificing decentralization and security.
"Danube is a moment of integration." — Alephium Chief Operating Officer Maud Bannwart
"We are not just improving the user experience; we are natively achieving Web2-level experiences on a decentralized, energy-efficient PoW chain."
Key Highlights of the Upgrade
This upgrade includes the following technical improvements for developers and end users:
Faster Block Times: Block time will be reduced to 8 seconds, doubling throughput to 2 blocks per second, with confirmation speeds comparable to leading PoS chains.
Higher Transaction Throughput: With BlockFlow consensus optimization, Alephium can now support over 20,000 TPS, and node synchronization speed has increased to three times the original.
Invisible Sharding: By introducing Groupless Addresses, users no longer need to understand or handle sharding logic, making Alephium the first blockchain to achieve seamless scalable sharding.
Passkey Onboarding Mechanism: Danube introduces support for Passkeys, allowing users to log in using Face ID, Touch ID, or YubiKey without the need for mandatory mnemonic phrases, thus lowering the barrier for mainstream users to enter Web3.
Chained Transaction Mechanism: Smart contracts support multiple function calls and asset reuse within a single transaction, significantly optimizing complex operation processes such as token swaps and composite interactions.
Enhanced Developer Tools: New virtual machine capabilities and simplified logic (such as I256 bit operations, automatic handling of dust and deposits) make smart contract development more efficient.
The Alephium team stated that the user experience of dApps post-upgrade will be closer to Web2 products, combining intuitiveness, smoothness, and high efficiency while retaining the security and decentralization features of the PoW network.
Significance of the Upgrade
The Danube upgrade marks a critical step for Alephium towards its vision of "true Web3" — a blockchain network that balances performance and decentralization.
With the scalability brought by sharding, the programmability of smart contracts, and the robustness of the UTXO model, Alephium is establishing itself as a credible alternative to Proof of Stake Layer 1 and Layer 2 Rollups.
This upgrade coincides with the rising discussions around L2 splits, account abstraction, and stateless architectures, while Alephium offers an alternative path: natively implementing these capabilities at Layer 1 without the complexities introduced by Rollups or sidechains.
### Key Dates and Upgrade Guide:
Mainnet Upgrade Time: July 15, 2025, 12:00 (GMT+2)
Node Operators: Must update to the latest node version by July 15 to remain in sync
Future Outlook
After completing the Danube upgrade, the Alephium team will focus on further reducing network latency, expanding smart contract capabilities, and demonstrating the advantages of its architecture in real-world applications.
As the second-ranked PoW chain by TVL, Alephium views Danube as a springboard for its developer and user ecosystem to enter the next phase.
"Web3 should be better, and Danube makes it a reality." — Alephium Team
### About Alephium
Alephium is a Layer 1 blockchain that employs sharding technology, combining the security of the UTXO model, smart contract support, and high throughput performance. The network is independently developed from the ground up, featuring its own virtual machine and consensus protocol, aimed at bringing scalability, simplicity, and decentralization to the next generation of Web3 applications. For more information, please visit the official upgrade guide.
This article is contributed content and does not represent the views of BlockBeats.
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