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Alephium Danube Upgrade Officially Launched, PoW Blockchain Sees Key Leap Forward into Web3 Era

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Alephium, the only Layer 1 blockchain that combines Proof of Work with native sharding technology, officially launched the Danube upgrade on July 15, 2025. This upgrade is a significant milestone in Alephium's roadmap, heralding faster block times, a mnemonic-free onboarding mechanism, and a more streamlined user experience.

The Danube upgrade introduces a series of innovations aimed at enhancing Web3 usability without sacrificing decentralization and security.

"Danube is a moment of synthesis for everything." — Alephium COO Maud Bannwart

"We are not just improving the user experience; we are natively achieving a Web2-level experience on a decentralized, energy-efficient PoW chain."

Core Upgrade Highlights

This upgrade includes the following technical improvements for developers and end users:

1. Faster Block Times: Block time will shorten to 8 seconds, doubling throughput to 2 blocks per second, achieving confirmation speeds comparable to leading PoS chains.

2. Higher Transaction Throughput: Through BlockFlow consensus optimization, Alephium can now support over 20,000 TPS, with node synchronization speeds three times faster than before.

3. Invisible Sharding: By introducing Groupless Addresses, users no longer need to understand or deal with sharding logic, making Alephium the first blockchain to achieve seamless and scalable sharding.

4. Passkey Onboarding: Danube introduces support for Passkey, allowing users to log in using Face ID, Touch ID, or YubiKey without the need for mnemonic phrases, lowering the barrier for mainstream users to enter Web3.

5. Chain-based Transaction Mechanism: Smart contracts now support multiple function calls and asset reuse within a single transaction, significantly optimizing complex processes such as token swaps and composite interactions.

6. Developer Tool Enhancements: Introducing new VM capabilities and simplified logic (such as I256-bit operations, Dust, and automatic deposit handling) to make smart contract development more efficient.

The Alephium team stated that post-upgrade dApp usability will closely resemble Web2 products, combining intuitiveness, smoothness, and efficiency while still retaining the security and decentralization features of a PoW network.

Upgrade Significance

The Danube upgrade marks a key step for Alephium towards its vision of "true Web3" — a blockchain network that combines performance with 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 trusted alternative for Proof of Stake Layer 1 and Layer 2 Rollup.

This upgrade comes at a time when topics such as L2 scaling, account abstraction, and statelessness are gaining momentum, and Alephium offers another path: implementing these capabilities natively at the Layer 1 level without the complexity of Rollups or sidechains.

Key Dates and Upgrade Guide:

· Mainnet Upgrade Date: July 15, 2025, 12:00 (GMT+2)

· Node Operators: Node operators must update to the latest node version before July 15

· Download Link

Future Outlook

Following the Danube upgrade, the Alephium team will focus on further reducing network latency, expanding smart contract capabilities, and showcasing the advantages of its architecture in real-world use cases.

As the second-ranked PoW chain by TVL, Alephium views Danube as a springboard for its developer and user ecosystem to enter the next stage.

"Web3 should be better, and Danube makes it a reality." — Alephium Team

About Alephium

Alephium is a sharded Layer 1 blockchain that combines the security of the UTXO model, smart contract support, and high throughput. The network is developed from the ground up with its own virtual machine and consensus protocol, aiming to bring scalability, simplicity, and decentralization to the next generation of Web3 applications. For more information, please visit the official upgrade guide.

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