After multiple cases of network congestion, Solana developers are digging deep for a permanent solution, but a short-term fix appears to be within reach for the blockchain network.
The scramble for a solution comes after the latest bout of network congestion that plagued the network. According to multiple reports, over three-quarters of network transactions on Solana have failed since April 4, fuelled by several factors.
A closer look at the trend reveals that non-vote transactions on the Solana network appear to be the hardest hit, with users taking to X (formerly Twitter) to voice their frustrations.
“As much as I think that SOL is the chain for retail this cycle – the experience is f—ing brutal lately,” wrote Altcoin Sherpa on X.
Onchain analysts are attributing the congestion to the meme coin craze that has enveloped the network in recent weeks. With an avalanche of retail traders pivoting from Ethereum to the network, transaction volume on Solana has spiked to new highs amid the memecoin mania.
Others blame the performance blip on bots, spam transactions, and clogging block space on the network. A combination of meme coins, bot activity, and the proliferation of decentralized exchanges has set the perfect stage for a deluge of fake transactions.
However, in search of a solution, Solana developers are implementing multiple measures, including software patches and other guardrails, to address the challenge.
“The Solana network is, once again, being battle-tested with a huge influx of traffic,” said Austin Federa, Strategy Lead at Solana Foundation. “Bug fixes are rolling out over the next week, and things will start to improve.”
Solana developers have confirmed plans to address issues related to its QUIC implementation to ensure smooth operations when faced with high request volumes. It appears that the community will fast-track the release of a version 1.18 update before the end of April, which developers say will improve transaction scheduling.
As an added layer to prevent congestion, developers are pining for the wide-scale application of priority fees across the ecosystem.
Only short-term solutions
Despite the flurry of activities, Federa notes that the solutions are only a short-term fix for the embattled network. The strategy lead discloses that none of the patches is a “silver bullet” to the congestion issues, describing the downtime as evidence of growing pains.
“We expect demand will continue to increase, which will require more work to scale up systems to meet this demand,” said Federa. “This is what scaling looks like, it’s not a one-and-done operation.”
SOL has lost nearly 10% in the last seven days to trade at $168 but still ranks in fifth place ahead of XRP and DOGE with its market capitalization of $74.8 billion.
