The Tezos blockchain successfully activated its 20th protocol upgrade, known as Tallinn, on January 24, 2026. The upgrade went live at block #11,640,289, marking another step in the evolution of the self-amending blockchain. A key feature of the Tallinn upgrade is the reduction of the Layer 1 block time from 8 seconds to 6 seconds. This improvement leads to faster transaction confirmations and a quicker overall experience on the Tezos network.
The reduced block time also impacts Layer 2 solutions built on Tezos, such as Etherlink, by reducing Layer 1 finality from 16 seconds to 12 seconds. Since Layer 2 data publication relies on inclusion in Layer 1 blocks, faster blocks provide quicker security guarantees for Layer 2 activities. This also benefits interchain bridging. The move to 6-second block times was achieved without increasing hardware requirements for "bakers," which is essential for maintaining decentralization and censorship resistance.
The Tallinn upgrade includes several core improvements developed by Nomadic Labs, Trilitech, and Functori. Aside from the block time reduction, another significant change involves baker attestations. Once at least 50% of bakers adopt tz4 addresses, every baker will attest to every block. This strengthens network security and makes staking rewards more predictable. It's important to note that current Ledger hardware may not be compatible with tz4 signatures, requiring bakers to use alternatives if they want to participate.
The Address Indexing Registry is the third major component of the Tallinn upgrade. This registry has the potential to significantly cut storage costs for large-scale Michelson applications and NFT ledgers, possibly by up to 100x. To realize these benefits, existing applications will need to be updated, but the efficiency gains could be substantial for projects that maintain extensive address ledgers.
The activation of the Tallinn upgrade follows months of testing and preparation. Prior to the upgrade, Nomadic Labs provided guidance to bakers and node operators on how to prepare for the changes. This included upgrading to Octez v24.0 and using the octez-dal-node command for those running a Tezos DAL node. The Tezos community was also encouraged to test their applications and tools on the dedicated test network, Tallinnnet.
Tezos operates on a Liquid Proof of Stake (LPoS) mechanism, allowing participants with more than 6,000 Tez (XTZ) to become delegates, or "bakers". These bakers are responsible for creating, signing, and publishing new blocks on the Tezos blockchain, and endorsing blocks produced by other bakers. The network utilizes the Michelson programming language for smart contracts, and the native token, XTZ, is used for transaction execution, gas payment, and participation in the decentralized governance system.
The Tallinn upgrade represents a continuation of Tezos' focus on performance, operational simplicity, and long-term scalability. The changes implemented are designed to streamline Layer 1 and support the growth of Layer 2 solutions. While the immediate price reaction of XTZ was minimal, the Tallinn upgrade is expected to have a positive impact on the Tezos ecosystem by improving speed, security, and efficiency.
