A recent report from CoinGecko highlights Solana speed dominance: with an average of 1,504 transactions per second (TPS), the blockchain outpaces Polygon and Ethereum by 5 and 46 times, respectively.
Solana is 46 times faster than Ethereum
On April 6, 2024, during a surge in interest in memecoins, Solana demonstrated its maximum capabilities, achieving a record daily TPS. “Despite this impressive result, it is important to note that Solana is running at just 1.6% of its theoretical maximum speed of 65,000 TPS,” CoinGecko noted.
Blockchains that do not support EVM are, on average, faster than EVM-compatible ones. Sui came in second in actual TPS with a score of 854, thanks to the popularity of the online game Sui 8192. Other fast blockchains that are not EVM compatible include TON with 175 TPS and Near Protocol with 118 TPS.
BNB Smart Chain (BSC) leads the EVM category with 378 TPS recorded during a surge in activity on December 7, 2023. It is followed by Polygon, which reached 190 TPS on November 16, 2023, becoming the fastest among Ethereum scaling solutions.
Ethereum and its major scaling solutions have collectively achieved an actual TPS of 500, trailing Solana and Sui. However, the study highlights that almost all significant blockchains have set their maximum actual TPS over the past year. The only exception is Thorchain, which peaked in May 2022.
The problems haven’t gone away
Despite its impressive speed, Solana still faces a number of challenges. Thus, in February 2024, the network experienced a significant outage due to decreased performance. Validators reported a temporary halt in transactions, calling into question the effectiveness of the blockchain.
Additionally, the Solana Pump.fun DeFi protocol was attacked on Tuesday. The attacker used flash credits to hack contracts, resulting in the loss of 12,000 SOL or approximately $2 million. The Pump.fun team responded by updating contracts and suspending trading to prevent further incidents.
