Agave 3.0: What Does a Solana’s 40% Performance Boost Means for Builders

‍Solana Levels Up Again

Solana has taken another big step forward with Agave 3.0, the latest release of its core validator client, developed by Anza, one of the main engineering teams behind the network.
This version focuses on what Solana does best: speed and efficiency. It delivers faster transaction processing, better compute scaling, and smoother real-time communication between validators and applications.

For anyone building on Solana through Tatum’s RPC Gateway, Data API, or Notifications, this upgrade means your app just got faster, automatically.

Runtime and Network Performance Reimagined

Agave 3.0 comes with a full runtime cache redesign that makes block execution leaner and more predictable.
By removing repetitive operations, transaction batches now complete up to 40% faster, significantly improving network responsiveness.

The update also raises the limit on how much compute a single account can use in a block. Developers pushing the boundaries of smart contract logic, such as trading platforms or yield protocols, can now execute more complex operations without hitting old compute ceilings.

On the networking side, Agave integrates eXpress Data Path (XDP), a low-level optimization that allows Solana’s data-sharing layer (Turbine) to transmit information much faster between validators.
The end result is lower latency across the network, meaning faster confirmations, quicker WebSocket updates, and steadier throughput even when traffic surges.

Through Tatum’s Solana RPC endpoints, these improvements are instantly reflected in your API calls. You don’t need to reconfigure anything, your requests simply resolve faster.

Deeper Composability for On-Chain Programs

One of the most developer-friendly updates in Agave 3.0 is the increase in Cross-Program Invocation (CPI) depth, doubled from four to eight levels.
This allows on-chain programs to interact with each other more freely, enabling complex DeFi logic, multi-step swaps, and advanced wallet or gaming use cases to run within a single transaction.

For builders using SDK or direct RPC methods, that means fewer failed invocations and smoother composability between smart contracts.

Simplified Scheduling and Faster Validator Recovery

Agave 3.0 also makes it easier for Solana’s leaders to pack transactions efficiently into each block.
A new scheduling model allows transactions that touch the same account to run sequentially rather than invalidating each other, paving the way for future asynchronous execution.
The new lightweight “TransactionView” structure further cuts down on how much work validators do when parsing and verifying transactions.

Validators themselves now restart in roughly half the time. Snapshot recovery is down to just a few minutes, improving uptime across the network and making Solana’s infrastructure even more resilient.
For Tatum, which runs distributed Solana nodes worldwide, that translates into more stable RPC performance and faster synchronization after upgrades.

Better RPC Responsiveness and Real-Time Updates

Developers relying on live on-chain data will notice another big improvement.
The Agave subscription server, which powers real-time updates, has been optimized to prioritize inbound messages and health pings, resulting in faster and more reliable PubSub communication.

For apps using Tatum’s Notifications API, this means webhook events for transfers, contract calls, or token mints arrive more consistently and with lower latency.
The same upgrades also improve the accuracy and freshness of data served through Tatum’s Blockchain Data API, which aggregates validated node responses from multiple regions.

Battle-Tested Stability

The new client has already proven its strength under pressure.
During October’s record-breaking market liquidation, Solana sustained six times its normal traffic while maintaining steady throughput and sub-cent transaction fees, a level of stability few blockchains have demonstrated.
Agave’s optimized runtime and Solana’s local fee markets were key to that resilience, ensuring user activity continued uninterrupted.

Tatum’s Solana RPC nodes mirrored that same stability, maintaining high availability and consistent response times throughout the event.

A Seamless Boost for Tatum Builders

Because Tatum’s infrastructure automatically tracks Solana’s client updates, developers instantly benefit from Agave 3.0 without lifting a finger.
Your transactions confirm faster, your data queries sync more efficiently, and your notifications reach endpoints sooner.

With Tatum, you get:

• Sub-30 ms Solana RPC latency with automatic failovers
• Indexed Data APIs for transactions, balances, and NFTs
• Real-time notifications webhooks for Solana and across 25+ supported chains

Conclusion

Agave 3.0 represents a clear evolution in Solana’s infrastructure: higher throughput, smarter networking, and more flexibility for developers.
Built by Anza, it makes the network faster and more efficient than ever, and through Tatum, every builder now benefits from that progress automatically.

Performance isn’t just a benchmark, it’s the backbone of what you build.

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