Solana's mainnet briefly processed 107,540 transactions per second (TPS) during a recent stress test, setting a new network record. The peak throughput occurred through high-load "noop" program calls – lightweight instructions that don't alter blockchain state but validate network capacity. Data confirmed the spike was facilitated by validator "Cavey Cool" over the weekend.
Helius CEO Mert Mumtaz clarified that while these tests involve minimal compute units, the associated signature verification and data loading overhead make them comparable to real operations like oracle updates or token transfers. He estimates practical throughput for such activities could reach 80,000–100,000 TPS under optimal conditions. This contrasts sharply with Solana's current daily average of 1,000–3,700 TPS, where validator votes dominate transaction volume.
The milestone reinforces Solana's technical differentiation amid Layer-1 scaling debates. Competitors like Ethereum and Avalanche prioritize modular designs and rollups, while Solana focuses on single-chain optimization. Bitwise Research highlighted network stability during stress tests as critical for high-frequency use cases like trading and gaming.
Upcoming infrastructure upgrades could further boost capacity. Firedancer – a C++ validator client by Jump Crypto – has demonstrated 1.2 million TPS in test environments, though not yet mainnet-ready. Architectural improvements including execution/consensus separation and localized fee markets aim to prevent historical congestion issues.
Corporate treasury adoption of SOL is accelerating alongside these benchmarks, with government entities noting Solana's inclusion in the U.S. "Digital Asset Stockpile" framework since March. Developers anticipate the enhanced throughput will enable previously impractical applications like real-time gaming, decentralized order books, and on-chain AI.