Solana’s Struggle: Is it True that 75% of User Transactions are Failing… or is there More to the Story?

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, more than 75% of all “non-vote” Solana transactions failed, marking the highest failure rate recorded. This increase in failed transactions has led to complaints from Solana users on social media about the poor user experience. Altcoin Sherpa, a pseudonymous trader, stated in a post on April 4 that while he believed Solana would establish itself as the preferred blockchain network for retail adoption, the current user experience was far from ideal. However, Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Helius and a vocal Solana advocate, disputed the claim that 75% of transactions were failing. He argued that the majority of failed non-vote transactions were simply “bot spam.” According to Mumtaz, users are usually not affected by this issue because their wallets simulate the transaction and inform them in advance if it will not work. He also mentioned that the failed transactions chart does not accurately reflect user impact because most users do not even reach that stage. Mumtaz emphasized that about 95% of the chart is made up of bots failing arbitrage attempts. Furthermore, he explained that increasing transaction priority fees would not solve the problem since most of the spam activity occurs before the scheduling process. Mumtaz expressed doubt that the upcoming 1.18 Solana network upgrade would address these issues, suggesting that the degraded user experience on Solana could persist for some time. Solana CEO Anatoly Yakovenko expressed his frustration with improving congestion bugs on the network, stating that dealing with these bugs is more challenging than total liveness failure. The price of Solana’s SOL token has experienced a 3% decline in the past week, following a 45% rally in the last month. As a result, Solana has slipped to become the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, with a total value of $81 billion, trailing behind Binance’s BNB at $89 billion.