Solana has officially broken through the $200 price mark, solidifying its position as a top player in the blockchain industry. At the same time, Sol Strategies is emerging as a key force to help make Solana the go-to platform for blockchain-based businesses.

For those unfamiliar with Sol Strategies (previously known as Cypherpunk Holdings), it’s much more than just a company holding Solana assets. Sol Strategies is actively involved in the ecosystem, acting as both a network validator and venture capital (VC) investor. This means that shareholders won’t just benefit from transaction verification (similar to “mining” in other blockchains) but will also gain from Sol Strategies’ investments in Solana projects.

The company’s belief in Solana’s efficiency and reliability is central to its strategy. We spoke with CEO Leah Wald to dive into how Solana is tackling performance issues and what the future holds for its role in decentralized networks.

**Are Solana’s Network Problems Over?**

We first tackled Solana’s past issues with network outages. These kinds of failures can be fatal for any blockchain, especially if you’re trying to run decentralized businesses like ride-hailing services without intermediaries. Since its launch, Solana has experienced nine major or partial network outages. Along with congestion, this has caused transaction failures to spike, with some services like the Jupiter aggregator reporting failure rates as high as 83% at times.

Over the last 30 days, Solana’s average transaction success rate was around 62%, far from ideal but improving. In comparison, Ethereum runs slower at 15-30 transactions per second (tps), although its upcoming upgrades aim to hit 100,000 tps.

According to Wald, there hasn’t been a partial outage in over 266 days (as of October), showing that Solana has made significant progress in solving these issues. Transaction failures are often linked to high-frequency trading strategies rather than everyday users, and from their perspective, the network has been stable for institutional use.

Solana’s growing pains are well-documented, but recent updates have helped improve its resilience and scalability. New solutions like Firedancer could push transaction speeds even further, which will be crucial as the network matures.

**Firedancer Validator Client: A Game Changer**

One of the most promising developments is Firedancer, a new validator client developed by Jump Crypto. Firedancer aims to boost transaction speeds dramatically, potentially reaching up to 1 million tps on Testnet. It also brings software diversity by being written in C, which helps reduce risks tied to relying on a single type of software.

Wald highlighted Firedancer as a critical innovation for Solana. While there are challenges like ensuring smooth transaction propagation and consensus scalability, these are actively being addressed.

**Improving Network Efficiency: Stake-Weighted Quality of Service & More**

Another area of focus is stake-weighted quality of service, which ensures that Solana can handle large volumes of transactions without losing performance. This aligns with Solana’s goal of rewarding those who participate and contribute to the network.

Recent updates, including version 1.18, the QUIC protocol, and the priority fee system, are already improving transaction success rates. These changes allow Solana to process transactions more efficiently during times of high demand while keeping its edge in speed.

**Decentralization Concerns: Is Solana Too Centralized?**

There are valid concerns about centralization on the Solana network, particularly regarding the small number of validators and the dominance of vote transactions (which make up 85% of network activity). Some fear this could threaten the stability and decentralization of the network.

Wald acknowledged these concerns but believes that ongoing efforts to increase the number of validators and diversify software clients like Firedancer will help address them. She also pointed out that other networks like Bitcoin face similar centralization challenges but have managed to adapt.

Overall, Wald expressed confidence in Solana’s ability to stay decentralized thanks to mechanisms like delegated proof of stake (dPOS) and MeV tip sharing (where validators earn from optimizing transaction order).

**Solana’s Key Tech Developments: An Overview**

– **Firedancer Validator Client:** Expected to roll out fully by 2025, this client could boost Solana’s transaction speeds from 50,000 tps to over 600,000 tps, potentially reaching up to 1.2 million tps.
– **QUIC Protocol:** Introduced to reduce spam and DDoS attacks, this protocol is part of Solana’s broader effort to improve network security and speed.
– **Fee Market & Priority Fee System:** This system helps balance the network load by prioritizing certain transactions while ensuring regular ones are processed smoothly.
– **Agave Validator Client:** This is another upgrade aiming to enhance overall network performance and reliability.

**Strategic Developments and Growth**

Interest in building on Solana has surged in 2024, especially among startup founders. The blockchain is now second only to Ethereum in terms of developer interest. According to reports, interest in Solana among founders doubled from last year, rising from 5.1% to 11.2%.

– **Solana Seeker Phone:** Slated for release in mid-2025, this phone is designed specifically for crypto users and will offer unique features and earning opportunities. It will be priced at $500 and available in 57 countries.
– **Seed Vault Wallet:** This mobile-centric wallet will streamline on-chain transactions, similar to how Apple Pay works.
– **Solana dApp Store:** A decentralized app store where developers can keep all their revenue while also offering unique rewards for users.

In summary, while Solana has faced challenges with outages and centralization concerns, ongoing innovations like Firedancer and network upgrades are positioning it as a leader in blockchain scalability and performance. With increasing interest from developers and a promising roadmap of new products like the Seeker Phone and dApp Store, Solana’s future looks bright.