<\/p>\n
The network has been under stress in recent months thanks to spam bots and memecoin trading.<\/p>\n
Solana developers are recommending developers adopt a much-needed network update to combat the recent congestion ailing the protocol.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe v1.17.31 release is now recommended for general use by MainnetBeta validators,\u201d read<\/a> an X post written by Solana Foundation. \u201cThis release contains enhancements which will help alleviate the ongoing congestion on the Solana Network.\u201d<\/p>\n These enhancements comprise five changes<\/a> to the validator stack\u2013nodes that run and secure the Solana blockchain.<\/p>\n Solana had become one of the winners of the early innings of the current crypto bull market, with its token rallying 1,500% from its $9.89 post FTX-crash low. Traders had flocked to the chain, lured by its fast and cheap transactions, while its leadership touted the benefits of having a \u201cmonolithic\u201d chain, which could scale at the base layer without the need of Layer 2 networks. With the current congestion issues, that narrative has now come into question.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s update caused a 6% spike in SOL pushing the token to $151. Solana\u2019s token has declined 17% in the past week and 22% in the past month, versus declines of 9% and 3% for Bitcoin in the same time frames.<\/p>\n Version 1.17.31, deployed today, is the precursor to v1.18 which is currently being tested on Solana\u2019s testnet. Set to be rolled out mid April, it brings a transaction scheduler, allowing validators to \u201cefficiently and economically\u201d fill blocks, according to a post<\/a> by the Solana Foundation.<\/p>\n Solana has been dealing with unusually high amounts of traffic in the first quarter of 2024, driven mostly by memecoins<\/a> and spam bots. On April 4, a record 75% of transactions on Solana were unsuccessful<\/a> due to bots in search of arbitrage opportunities<\/p>\n