Solana Rolls Out Update to Tackle Network Congestion

According to Solana developers, it’s advised that mainnet validators implement the latest software update to address the congestion issue on the widely-used blockchain, based on a recent X post announcement.

“MainnetBeta validators now suggest using the v1.17.31 release due to its new features designed to ease the current traffic jam on the Solana Network,” they mentioned.

In a blog post on Monday, Rex St John, Anza’s developer relations head, announced the release of Version 1.17.31 as the initial step in a line of upcoming updates intended to alleviate network congestion issues experienced over the past few months.

Validators are entities responsible for verifying and validating transactions on a blockchain network, as well as maintaining its security. To ensure the smooth functioning of the network, these validators must regularly update their nodes with new software releases.

In the past few months, the network has experienced significant congestion due to the surge in popularity of meme coins, leading to a substantial increase in user activity and an unusually high demand for the network. The daily transactional volumes soared as high as $4 billion in March, compared to the normal range of under $500 million per day in 2023.

A significant increase in bot activity led to an uptick in unsuccessful transactions on the network, according to Solana developer @0xMert_’s previous explanation on X.

In simpler terms, if a transaction was deemed unfavorable by a smart contract despite being processed by the Solana network, we refer to it as a failure or rejection of that transaction.

In simpler terms, the revised version gives preference to transactions initiated by reliable validators, who have substantial investments in the network, over to the node leader for confirmation. This preference ensures that validators with larger stakes receive better service and helps prevent lower-staked validators from congesting the network with unwanted transactions.

In simpler terms, Version 1.18 is now being tried out on a practice platform similar to the real blockchain to identify and fix any problems before its official release.