Mina’s foundation is solid: a succinct, zk‑native blockchain that anyone can verify. Now, the proposed Mesa Upgrade marks the shift from potential to performance — dialing up speed with faster blocks and higher throughput, lifting constraints for zkApp developers, and introducing smoother, more predictable upgrades. Like reaching the flat, open expanse of a mesa, this is about raising Mina’s capabilities while keeping its base stable and succinct — creating a platform for richer applications, future integrations, and a more powerful ecosystem ahead.
Proposed Slot Reduction MIP
Welcome to our first proposed MIP for the Mesa Upgrade - reduced slot times. But first, how did we get here? Early on, Mina prioritized correctness, security, and resilience with conservative parameters. With major performance improvements now in place, the community is being asked to consider a change that makes Mina faster while staying true to its original vision.
First Things First: What’s a “Slot”?
Think of a blockchain like a clock that ticks at a regular pace. Each network has its own built-in “beat” that determines when new blocks can be added.
On Mina, this beat is divided into “slots,” which are equal time intervals. In each slot, the network can create at most one block.
Right now on mainnet, one slot lasts 180 seconds (3 minutes). Because there’s at most one block per slot, the fastest possible time between blocks is 3 minutes.
If slots are made shorter, blocks can be created more often. That helps transactions get noticed and confirmed faster.
Two Key Concepts: Throughput and Finality
- Throughput: How much the network can process over time—think “how many transactions per unit time.” When slots get shorter, blocks can be created more frequently, which increases the network’s potential throughput.
- Finality: How quickly a transaction becomes effectively permanent. Practically, it’s “how long until I can trust this payment won’t be reversed.” The Slot Reduction MIP is the first step on a path toward faster finality, by tightening the network’s cadence and reducing the time it takes for confirmations to accumulate.
What We’re Proposing in This MIP
As part of the proposed Mesa Upgrade, we’re putting forward a Slot Reduction MIP with these changes:
- Reduce slot time from 180s to 90s
- Update coinbase block producer rewards from 720 to 360 MINA per block
- Cutting coinbase in half preserves the same overall token emission rate, because there are twice as many potential block opportunities; this keeps inflation unchanged.
- Update account vesting schedule logic to preserve real-world timelines
- Remove the zkApp soft limit (currently 24). Before the network treated zkApp transactions differently to standard transactions and limited them. This removal of the soft limit will mean zkApps are now limited by the number of total transactions per block which is much higher.
We’re proposing to deliver this MIP as part of the Mesa Upgrade.
Why 90 Seconds?
- It roughly doubles the network’s potential throughput.
- It fits well within the performance headroom unlocked by recent optimizations.
- It cuts confirmation latency, making the network feel more responsive for everyday usage.
In short: it’s a practical step forward that’s meaningful for users and developers, without overextending the system.
What Makes This Possible Now
Before, creating and finalizing a block of transactions could take over 100 seconds — now it’s under 30 seconds.
We did this by:
- Making the transaction queue handle heavy loads faster
- Tweaking the database and encryption calculations to run more efficiently
- Using memory more effectively
- Enabling SNARK workers to split up larger jobs amongst more nodes
That last point is important because some large transactions need complex “proofs” to verify them. By running these proofs in parallel on several workers, they finish much faster.
This speed-up will let them safely cut the time between blocks in half (faster network) without hurting reliability.
What This Means for Users and Developers
- Faster transaction inclusions and confirmations: With shorter slots, transactions get into blocks more quickly, improving responsiveness across wallets, apps, and exchanges.
- Same inflation, same tokenomics: Coinbase per block is halved to keep the overall emission rate stable.
- More room for zkApps: Removing the soft limit enables higher zkApp throughput as performance allows.
- Vesting remains predictable: Vesting schedules will continue to align with real-world time, not get “faster” just because slots are shorter.
How to Get Involved
The Slot Reduction MIP has completed community discussion and is now in the Finalization stage. That means all feedback has been addressed, and the proposal is ready for inclusion in the upcoming Mesa Upgrade, pending the community's on-chain vote.
At this stage, the best way to stay involved is to:
- Stay informed — follow updates from o1Labs and Mina channels as we share more on other MIPs.
- Prepare your infrastructure — node operators, exchanges, and ecosystem projects should review the proposed changes and ready their systems for the upgrade.
- Watch for the on-chain vote — Finalization does not mean implementation. This MIP, along with the other four proposals that are being presented for the Mesa Upgrade, will move to an on-chain vote once they are all ready. Community participation in that vote is essential to confirm the upgrade.
The Road Ahead
The Slot Reduction MIP is the first step in a series of performance-focused proposals leading up to the Mesa Upgrade. The goal is clear: bring Mina’s finality and throughput in line with industry expectations—while preserving what makes Mina unique and valuable: end-to-end succinctness, strong decentralization, and zero-knowledge at the core.
Shorter slots, same succinct Mina—faster, more responsive, and ready for what builders want to ship next.