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Solana: Sending Transactions Rarely Get Confirmed
As a Solana user, one of the most frustrating experiences is waiting for transactions to be confirmed. While this may seem like a minor issue, our recent experience sending transactions on the Solana network has revealed just how infrequent these confirmations are.
My transactions are rarely confirmed, sometimes as little as once a day, even though I’m using a paid starter plan with QuickNode, one of the most popular and reputable Solana node providers. This is not an isolated incident either. Many users have reported similar experiences where their transactions were not confirmed despite following standard best practices.
Despite raising this issue with QuickNode, I have not received a response. It’s disappointing to realize that my issue may not be unique and highlights the need for greater attention from the Solana team regarding transaction confirmation times.
Problem:
To understand why transactions are rarely confirmed, let’s look at how the Solana network works. The Solana network is designed to process transactions in batches of 32, known as “batches.” This means that multiple transactions can be processed together, reducing the overall transaction processing time.
However, batching does not guarantee faster transaction confirmation times. In fact, it is possible for transactions to be batched together but still fail to confirm for a variety of reasons, such as:
- High network congestion: If too many transactions are processed at the same time, they can get lost in the queue.
- Node overload: Some nodes on the Solana network may have high loads, causing delays in processing and confirming transactions.
- Network issues: Problems with the network itself can cause delayed or failed transactions.
Solution:
To alleviate these issues, QuickNode offers a paid starter plan that includes faster transaction confirmation times. However, even with this upgrade, we still experienced slow confirmations. Clearly, there are limits to how quickly transactions can be confirmed on the Solana network.
Call to action:
Given the frustration and potential financial losses from delayed transactions, it is critical that Solana’s team addresses these issues head on. This may include:
- Improving the capacity of the node to handle large amounts of transactions
- Implementation of more efficient aggregation algorithms to reduce latency
- Increasing the frequency of batch processing to reduce congestion
- Improving network security measures to prevent hacking and other malicious activities
Until these changes are implemented, users will continue to experience slow transaction confirmations. As a result, we may need to explore alternative solutions to ensure our transactions are processed efficiently and quickly.
By pushing for improved transaction confirmation times on the Solana network, we hope to end this frustrating issue and create a more seamless user experience for all Solana users.