Solana,
one
of
the
fastest
growing
blockchain
networks,
experienced
severe
disruptions
early
Tuesday
morning.
Engineers
responded
quickly,
beginning
work
before
6
a.m.
ET,
to
push
out
a
patch
needed
to
restart
the
halted
chain.
But
it
wasn’t
until
approximately
10:00
a.m.,
when
validators
collectively
controlling
80%
of
staked
SOL
had
updated
to
a
new
version
of
Solana’s
source
code,
that
the
network
began
humming
again.
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This
is
not
the
first
time
Solana
has
gone
down.
It
has
seen
at
least
one
major
crash
that
severely
affected
block
production
every
year
since
2021
—
with
some
outlets
counting
at
least
11
total
disruptions
over
the
past
two
years,
including
minor
events.
The
mainnet
network
is
often
said
to
be
running
in
“beta,”
a
term
that
typically
refers
to
nearly-finished
software
that
is
being
tested
by
a
select
group
of
users
before
an
official
launch.
“Engineers
from
across
the
ecosystem
are
investigating
an
outage
on
mainnet-beta,”
the
Solana
team’s
incident
report
read.
While
it
is
true
that
Solana
has
never
officially
announced
that
it
was
leaving
the
beta
testing
phase,
a
period
meant
to
help
identify
bugs
and
evaluate
performance
in
real-world
conditions,
at
this
point
the
phrase
seems
increasingly
like
a
cop
out.
Solana
is
a
fully
functional
blockchain
with
a
large
and
committed
user
base.
It
is
the
fifth-largest
“DeFi
chain”
by
total
value
locked,
representing
about
$1.7
billion
in
capital
committed
to
the
various
on-chain
apps.
SOL,
the
native
token,
is
the
fifth-largest
cryptocurrency
at
a
market
capitalization
of
nearly
$42
billion.
It
is
frequently
cited
as
one
of
the
blockchains
with
the
most
exciting
developer
communities.
There’s
an
argument
to
be
made
that
Solana’s
novel
approach
to
blockchain
architecture
—
it
is
often
called
a
“monolithic
chain”
that
uses
a
custom-built
“proof-of-history”
algorithm
to
quickly
process
transactions
—
needs
time
to
cook
before
it’s
fully
ready
to
serve.
There
are
also
a
number
of
major
upgrades
planned
for
the
network
to
introduce
greater
programming
flexibility
and
improve
user
experience.
But
at
the
same
time,
its
developer
community,
including
the
non-profit
Solana
Foundation,
often
push
initiatives
and
projects
meant
to
increase
adoption.
The
foundation
opened
a
store
in
the
heart
of
New
York
City,
for
instance,
to
introduce
passersby
to
the
tech.
Solana
is
also
the
only
network
to
have
its
own
custom-made
smartphone
(with
a
second,
cheaper,
version
on
the
way).
A
number
of
semi-viral
apps,
including
STEPN,
which
paid
people
to
exercise,
were
heavily
promoted
by
influencers
and
celebrities
like
Sam
Bankman-Fried.
Outside
of
Ethereum
and
Binance
Smart
Chain,
Solana
is
one
of
the
few
chains
that
could
be
said
to
have
developed
a
unique
trading
community,
with
a
number
of
homespun
NFT
projects
and
meme
coins
even
spilling
out
and
gaining
international
media
exposure.
All
of
this
is
a
testament
to
what
Solana
is
and
what
is
being
built,
as
well
as
lead
developer
Anatoly
Yakovenko’s
charisma
and
leadership.
The
project
clearly
has
legs,
as
evidenced
by
its
Phoenix-like
rebirth
after
the
collapse
of
one
of
its
principle
backers,
SBF.
But
there
is
something
disingenuous
in
saying
that
a
project
is
a
work-in-progress
while
also
actively
attempting
to
on-board
the
world.
Especially
if
you
genuinely
believe
that
crypto
assets
have
real
value
—
otherwise
you
are
unnecessarily
putting
people
at
risk.
It’s
telling,
for
instance,
that
the
term
“beta”
isn’t
thrown
around
anywhere
on
the
pre-order
page
for
the
next
version
of
Solana
Mobile’s
Saga
phone.
Instead,
there’s
a
preamble
meant
to
inspire
FOMO
about
how
the
first
edition
“almost
overnight
…
sold
out”
(which
isn’t
exactly
true,
unless
you
ignore
the
months
leading
up
to
a
viral
moment)
and
telling
people
not
to
“miss
your
chance
to
be
an
early
adopter”
and
“maximize
your
chance
for
ecosystem
rewards
and
giveaways.”
Under
the
Saga
FAQ
there
are
no
statements
about
Solana
being
experimental
tech,
but
instead
questions
like
“how
many
can
I
order.”
There
is
also
little
indication
of
when
Solana
might
exit
its
“beta”
period.
Considering
that
it
is
a
live
mainnet,
as
open
and
accessible
as
any
other
blockchain,
with
no
requirements
for
users
to
submit
feedback
or
find
bugs,
you
could
argue
the
term
is
obsolete
by
default.
Ethereum,
Zcash
and
Cardano
all
swapped
out
their
core
algorithms
without
disrupting
service
or
reentering
beta.
So
I
think
it’s
time
to
retire
a
term
that
is
only
ever
really
walked
out
when
something
goes
wrong.
None
of
this
is
meant
to
suggest
Solana
won’t
eventually
work
out
its
kinks
—
and
hopefully
this
is
the
last
time
it
fails.
Just
own
your
mistakes.