Anza, a Solana blockchain infrastructure firm spun out of Solana Labs, has proposed a new proof-of-stake consensus called Alpenglow that it claims would be “the biggest change to Solana’s core protocol” and compete with current internet infrastructure.

“We believe that the release of Alpenglow will be a turning point for Solana. Alpenglow is not only a new consensus protocol, but the biggest change to Solana’s core protocol since, well, ever,” Anza’s Quentin Kniep, Kobi Sliwinski and Roger Wattenhofer said on May 19.

Alpenglow consists of Votor, which processes voting transactions and block finalization logic, and Rotor, a data dissemination protocol that would replace Solana’s proof-of-history timestamping system and aim to reduce the time it takes for all nodes to agree on the network state.

Source: Anza

Anza researchers claimed that “Alpenglow will shatter both these latency bounds” and the project expects it to reach actual finality in about 150 milliseconds, rivaling internet infrastructure.

“A median latency of 150 [milliseconds] does not just mean that Solana is fast — it means Solana can compete with Web2 infrastructure in terms of responsiveness, potentially making blockchain technology viable for entirely new categories of applications that demand real-time performance.”

Votor — which would replace TowerBFT — would aim to finalize blocks in a single round if 80% of the stake is participating, and in two rounds if only 60% of the stake is responsive.

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These two voting modes are integrated and run concurrently, with finalization taking place as soon as the faster of the two paths terminates.

Anza’s researchers claimed this model would result in “unprecedented finalization latency” while enabling it to operate more effectively under “harsh network conditions.”

Alpenglow won’t fix Solana’s network outages

The project’s white paper noted that switching to Alpenglow wouldn’t completely shield Solana from the network outages that it has experienced in the past.

Solana currently only has one production-ready client, Agave, meaning any security vulnerability in Agave can disrupt the entire Solana network.

However, a new independent validator client called Firedancer is set to launch on Solana’s mainnet sometime this year, which will provide client diversification for the network.

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Key takeaways:

Bitcoin’s Sharpe ratio converges with gold’s, indicating similar risk-adjusted returns, supporting its store-of-value role.

Gold outperformed Bitcoin in Q1 2025 with a 30.33% price gain versus Bitcoin’s 3.84%, driven by economic uncertainty.

Bitcoin ETF inflows are recovering, and analysts predict BTC could reach $110,000–$444,000 in 2025.

Bitcoin’s (BTC) price is holding above $100,000, leading Fidelity Director of Global Macro, Jurrien Timmer to say the crypto asset could reclaim its position as a leading store-of-value contender. 

Timmer’s recent analysis highlights a convergence in the Sharpe ratios of Bitcoin and gold, suggesting that the two assets are increasingly comparable in risk-adjusted returns. The Sharpe ratio measures the rate of return an investment provides for the risk taken, by comparing its performance to a risk-free benchmark relative to its volatility.

The chart below, tracking weekly data between 2018 and May 2025, shows Bitcoin’s returns (1x) catching up to gold’s (4x), with gold at $22.48 and Bitcoin at $15.95 in relative performance terms. 

Gold vs Bitcoin Sharpe ratio. Source: X.com

From an allocation standpoint, Timmer recommended a 4:1 gold-to-Bitcoin ratio for a store-of-value hedge, highlighting an intriguing observation. Timmer said, 

“I continue to be fascinated by the fact that the most negatively correlated asset to Bitcoin is gold. For two players on the same store-of-value team, it’s not what I would expect to see. Bitcoin’s risk-reward ratio has continued to impress. There is no other asset quite like it!”

While Bitcoin’s SoV credential improves above $100,000, Ecoinometrics, a Bitcoin-focused macroeconomic newsletter, pointed out that it was not smooth sailing in Q1 2025. 

In 2024, Bitcoin spot exchange-traded traded-funds (ETFs) saw a staggering $35 billion net inflows, purchasing 500,000 BTC and driving a 120% return. However, 2025 started on a different note. The first four months saw Bitcoin ETF flows drop to less than a third compared to 2024, while gold ETFs attracted more capital.

The newsletter noted that this shift could be attributed to Q1 uncertainty surrounding Federal Reserve policy, trade policy, and the US economy. Ecoinometrics stated,

“Between two hard assets, gold and Bitcoin, it’s easy to see why capital went to the one seen as a haven.” Bitcoin vs gold ETF netflows comparison. Source: X.com

Gold, with a 30.33% price gain in 2025 compared to Bitcoin’s 3.84%, benefited from its stability during economic unease. Additionally, the analysis added that Bitcoin performed better as a “high-beta growth asset,” thriving in rising liquidity and fiat debasement environments. 

Recent developments signal a shift: US trade policy clarity, a softer Federal Reserve stance, and easing financial conditions have spurred steady inflows into Bitcoin ETFs.

Related: Bitcoin bull flag and standard profit taking hint at eventual rally to new BTC price highs

Bitcoin is on track for new highs in 2025

A higher Sharpe ratio is a positive metric for Bitcoin, significantly increasing the probability of reaching new all-time highs above $110,000 in May. According to Bitcoin Suisse, a crypto custody firm, BTC’s high Sharpe ratio has allowed the asset to thrive in risk-on and risk-off environments since the US presidential election. 

Bitcoin price performance in risk-on, risk-off. Source: Bitcoin Suisse

With more than 88% of its supply in profit, BTC currently behaves as a high-conviction bet, where the likelihood of an “acceleration phase” moving forward. Bitcoin Suisse head of research Dominic Weibei said, 

“In this environment, Bitcoin has emerged as the Swiss army knife asset. Whether equities rally or bonds crumble, BTC trades on its supply-demand fundamentals, delivering a win-win profile that traditional assets simply can’t offer.”

Similarly, Cointelegraph reported that Bitcoin has a “decent chance” of reaching $250,000 or more in 2025, driven by its interplay with gold, according to a gold-based forecast. The report uses a scenario-based framework rooted in its gold model to project Bitcoin’s potential revaluation as a non-sovereign hard asset. 

If Bitcoin’s network value, measured in gold, follows a power curve, and gold maintains its current value, analysts suggest it could hit $444,000 in 2025. However, a more conservative estimate by Bitcoin analyst Apsk32 points to a “reasonable” target of $220,000 for the year. 

Related: Altcoins are on the verge of ‘most powerful rally’ since 2017 — Analyst

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Circle, the issuer of stablecoin USDC (USDC), is still planning an initial public offering (IPO), but the company is also in informal talks with Ripple and Coinbase about a sale, according to a report from Fortune.

Circle is seeking at least $5 billion, which is its target for the IPO, according to the four banking and private equity sources Fortune cited. Ripple tried to purchase Circle on April 30, but the $4 billion to $5 billion bid was rejected as being too low.

If Ripple or Coinbase were to buy Circle, the details of a purchase would differ. Ripple would pay using cash and XRP (XRP), a cryptocurrency that Ripple created. Coinbase, on the other hand, would use cash and stock.

Coinbase and Circle have a relationship dating to 2018, when they launched the Centre Consortium. That venture was meant to establish standards for fiat-backed stablecoins, including USDC. Coinbase also has an agreement with Circle to put USDC onto its exchange.

Circle filed for an IPO on April 1 with a goal to complete the process by the end of that month. The company backpedaled slightly on April 4, indicating it might delay its IPO due to economic uncertainty.

Related: New bull cycle? Bitcoin’s return to $100K hints at ‘significant price move’

Market conditions for IPOs improve as tariffs wane

In December 2024, Bitwise predicted that 2025 would be the year of the crypto IPO, and that prediction is starting to bear fruit. Aside from Circle, crypto exchanges Gemini and Kraken are mulling IPOs in 2025 or early 2026 as US President Donald Trump has pushed for a more favorable regulatory environment for crypto in the United States.

Those plans were put on hold after the Trump administration enacted wide-ranging tariffs that caused market turmoil. With the tariffs now suspended or reduced, markets have rebounded.

On May 12, Cointelegraph reported that Bitcoin (BTC) was 4.8% away from reaching its all-time high of $109,800. Ether (ETH), XRP, and Solana (SOL) have also seen big gains in the past month. The stock market has rebounded as well, with the S&P 500 jumping 15.6% in the past month according to Google Finance.

At least one company has benefited from completing its IPO during this period of renewed enthusiasm: eToro, an Israel-based trading company. After an IPO on May 14, its stock price jumped 29%.

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