Solana has issued an update aimed at resolving network congestion caused by spam bots and memecoin trading. The Solana team proposes implementing a mandatory network update to tackle the congestion issues affecting the protocol.

For normal usage, Mainnet Beta authenticators are advised to adopt the v1.17.31 release, which includes enhancements to alleviate the ongoing congestion on the Solana Network. These improvements consist of five modifications to the authenticator stack nodes responsible for operating and utilizing the Solana blockchain.

Despite being an early success story in the current crypto landscape, with its token soaring 1,500% following the FTX incident, Solana has faced scrutiny due to congestion issues. Traders were initially drawn to its fast and cost-effective transactions. However, concerns have been raised regarding the network's congestion problems.

The update resulted in a 6% increase in SOL, pushing the token to $151. Solana's token experienced a $17 decline in the previous week and a 22% decrease in the last month, compared to Bitcoin's 9% and 3% declines, respectively.

Version 1.17.31, positioned as a precursor to v1.18, is currently undergoing testing on Solana's testnet, with its release scheduled for mid-April. It introduces a transaction scheduler, enabling authenticators to efficiently fill blocks.

During Q1 of 2024, Solana witnessed significant traffic, largely due to memecoins and spam bots. On April 4th, 75% of transactions on Solana were unsuccessful due to bots seeking arbitrage opportunities.

According to Austin Federa, Head of Strategy at Solana Foundation, developers have been diligently working to enhance Solana's networking stack to meet unprecedented demands.