The creator of the Ore project, known as Hardhat Chad, has proposed a solution to the recent congestion issues faced by the Solana network. Hardhat Chad suggests that the Solana Foundation should offer a reward to incentivize testnet activity. In a post on the X social platform, he recommends providing SOL tokens as an incentive for users to actively engage in testing new features and protocols. This would not only improve the platform’s performance but also identify potential issues before deployment to the mainnet.
The response from the community to Hardhat Chad’s suggestion has been divided. While some supported the idea, others disagreed. One user, TheSoftwareJedi, advised Chad to focus on building his project and demonstrating goodwill to the foundation. The user suggested that Chad could apply for funding from the foundation but emphasized the importance of maintaining autonomy from foundation incentives.
Hardhat Chad clarified that he is not seeking funds from the foundation. His goal for Ore is to establish a currency, rather than develop testnet tools. He is reevaluating incentives to combat spam and questioning the prioritization of building testnet spam bots.
This proposal comes after Hardhat Chad announced the immediate cessation of mining operations for the well-being of the Solana network and Ore’s stakeholders. He emphasized the need for an overhauled smart contract framework in light of recent network difficulties.
This strategic move aligns with Ore’s roadmap for developing its second version (v2) and demonstrates a commitment to long-term sustainability. Ore, a blockchain-based project launched on Solana, is exploring the use of a proof-of-work (PoW) token distribution mechanism to ensure proper distribution. The project aims to combine PoW’s security with Solana’s fast transaction capabilities.
Since its introduction, Ore’s activity has significantly contributed to Solana’s network congestion, resulting in a high rate of failed transactions. However, Solana developers have released a mainnet beta update, v1.17.31, to address the ongoing network congestion. This update includes enhancements that will help alleviate some of the congestion, with further improvements planned for v1.18.