Tezos Tallinn Upgrade: Shortening Block Time to 6 Seconds and Entering a New Era

Last week, Tezos introduced its 20th innovative protocol upgrade, “Tarlin,” marking a milestone in its 20-year history of major upgrades. The most notable feature is the significant reduction in block generation time on the base layer, achieving a rapid 6-second block time. This achievement was completed smoothly without network forking. The technological leap brought by the Tarlin upgrade goes beyond mere speed improvements.

Chain Reaction from Reduced Block Time

With the introduction of Tarlin, finality confirmation times have been dramatically accelerated. The shortening of block times has simultaneously reduced storage costs and latency, greatly improving network responsiveness. This enhancement enabled a paradigm shift from the existing subset validation model to a fully participatory validation model. All validators, called “bakers,” can now directly participate in each block production process, ensuring higher transparency and decentralization.

Democratization of Validation through BLS Signatures

The core technological innovation of the Tarlin upgrade is the adoption of BLS cryptographic signature technology. This revolutionary approach compresses what previously required hundreds of signatures into a single aggregated signature per block. This compression mechanism significantly reduces node computational load and dramatically improves overall network resource efficiency. As more node operators can participate in the network, Tezos’ decentralization is expected to accelerate further.

Storage Efficiency Improved by 100 Times: A New Dimension of Scalability

Implementation of address indexing mechanisms has enabled the removal of redundant address data, achieving an astonishing 100-fold increase in storage efficiency. This storage optimization greatly reduces long-term node operation costs and provides a stronger foundation for more participants to support the Tezos network. Data management efficiency is a crucial factor in sustaining blockchain sustainability.

Towards the Next Evolution of the Network

According to statements from the Tezos development team, the Tarlin upgrade embodies the industry-wide trend toward “faster, higher throughput.” Shorter block times, reduced storage costs, and increased processing capacity are necessary evolutions to meet the growing demand for use cases. Shorter settlement times benefit users and institutional investors seeking transaction finality and will enhance the overall competitiveness of the Tezos ecosystem. This Tarlin upgrade is a significant milestone for Tezos to continue self-innovation and remain at the forefront of blockchain technology.