Solana Activates SIMD-0266 on May 13, 2026, Cutting Token Compute Use Up to 98%

Solana activated SIMD-0266 (the P-Token Optimized Token Program) on mainnet on May 13, 2026, replacing the SPL Token program with a more efficient version. The update is designed to cut compute unit usage for common token actions by as much as 98% and free about 12% of block space, potentially expanding capacity for DeFi, payments, NFTs, and high-frequency use cases.