Algorand upgrade boosts speed, adds trustless cross-chain communication

cointelegraph.com:

Pure proof-of-stake (PPoS) blockchain Algorand has introduced cross-chain communication and transaction speed improvements with the latest upgrade to its protocol.

The layer-1 blockchain network announced the implementation of State Proofs to its mainnet, which introduces trustless communication between different blockchain protocols. The upgrade also increased Algorand’s processing speed from 1,200 to 6,000 transactions per second.

The upgrade also includes the provision of new tools for developers as well as on-chain randomness capabilities for decentralized applications (DApps) running on Algorand. On-chain randomness is a key feature of Algorand’s PPoS consensus, in which network validators are chosen at random despite the respective amount of staked Algorand (ALGO) tokens.

As Algorand unpacked in a recent Medium post, State Proofs are cryptographic proofs of Algorand’s state that allows DApps on other blockchains to trustlessly verify Algorand transactions. The upgrade also increased the block size to 5 MB and a “sub-4-second block latency and finality.”

The introduction of State Proofs allows Algorand to securely connect to different blockchain networks without using an intermediary. Cross-chain interoperability and connectivity have mainly been powered by cross-chain bridges and validator networks, which have been subject to high-level exploits in recent times.

3/ Today’s upgrade also features an increase in performance from 1,200 to 6,000 TPS and new best-in-class developer tools, allowing organizations building on #Algorand to continue to scale to meet growing demand for #Web3 applications pic.twitter.com/1CJyL0587L

Algorand touts its quantum-secure, trustless State Proofs as a solution to the centralized nature of