Solana is gearing up for a pivotal update scheduled to go live on May 27, targeting its mainnet beta. The release of version v1.18 is a critical step in addressing the ongoing congestion issues plaguing the network.
The upcoming v1.18 update is poised to significantly strengthen Solana’s infrastructure, aiming to tackle the challenges posed by recent congestion, exacerbated by a surge in bot-driven transactions linked to meme coins, resulting in increased transaction failures.
In response to these challenges, Solana’s development team has been actively rolling out a series of upgrades to improve network performance. Notably, on April 13, in collaboration with Anza, a key infrastructure developer, they introduced version 1.18.11 on the devnet. Currently, validators are rigorously testing the v1.18 update, with their feedback crucial for ensuring the success of the impending mainnet-beta launch.
In addition to these proactive measures, developers released version 1.17.31 on April 15, aimed at alleviating congestion. This version was promptly recommended for use by MainnetBeta validators, forming part of broader efforts to stabilise the network amidst fluctuating transaction volumes.
Despite these technical advancements, Solana has faced notable market volatility, experiencing a value decline of over 22% since the beginning of the month.
