Approximately 75% of transactions on the Solana network have been unsuccessful due to the surge in activity caused by the recent memecoin frenzy on Solana. However, supporters argue that the data is being misinterpreted. According to Dune Analytics, on April 4, over 75% of all “non-vote” Solana transactions failed, marking the highest failure rate on record. This increase in failed transactions has sparked complaints from Solana users on social media, who have expressed frustration with the degraded user experience.
Altcoin Sherpa, a pseudonymous trader, acknowledged in an April 4 post that while they still believe Solana will establish itself as the preferred blockchain network for retail adoption, the current user experience is far from ideal. On the other hand, Mert Mumtaz, the CEO of Helius and a vocal Solana proponent, disputed the claim that 75% of transactions were failing. Mumtaz argued that the majority of failed non-vote transactions were simply “bot spam.” He stated that users are usually not greatly affected by this, as their wallets simulate the transaction and inform them beforehand if it will not work. Mumtaz also pointed out that the failed transactions chart does not accurately assess user impact, as most users do not even make it to that point. He estimated that about 95% of the chart consists of bots failing arbitrage attempts.
Mumtaz further explained that increasing transaction priority fees would not solve the issue, as much of the spam activity occurs before the scheduling process. He cautioned against wasting money by increasing fees above a certain median. Mumtaz expressed doubt that the upcoming 1.18 Solana network upgrade would address these problems, suggesting that the degraded user experience on Solana could persist for some time.
Solana CEO Anatoly Yakovenko expressed frustration with the process of resolving congestion bugs on the network. He stated that dealing with congestion bugs is more challenging than total liveness failure, as the former requires going through the full release and test pipeline. Yakovenko shared his thoughts on social media, emphasizing the difficulty of shipping fast in such circumstances.
The price of Solana’s SOL token has declined by approximately 3% in the past week following a 45% rally in the previous month. As a result, Solana has dropped to the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, with a total value of $81 billion, trailing behind Binance’s BNB at $89 billion, according to CoinGecko.
In other news, the formation of the “SEAL 911” team of white hats has been announced. This team aims to combat crypto hacks in real time.