Major crypto platform Coinbase is tackling persistent performance issues by overhauling its infrastructure for the Solana blockchain. This move follows user complaints earlier this year regarding sluggish transaction processing for SOL tokens.
Announced on April 17, 2024, the significant technical upgrades aim to boost speed and resilience for Solana transfers on both the main Coinbase exchange and its associated Coinbase Wallet. The exchange highlighted key changes designed to improve the user experience significantly.[pic.twitter.com/WFINzCutNK]
Coinbase now processes Solana transactions asynchronously, allowing it to handle multiple blocks concurrently. This shift reportedly delivers a fivefold increase in block processing throughput. Furthermore, the company moved its Solana operations to dedicated bare-metal servers, ditching reliance on shared cloud services for this critical function.
This transition to dedicated hardware yielded a fourfold improvement in remote procedure call (RPC) performance, according to Coinbase. Faster RPC means more efficient communication between Coinbase’s applications and the Solana network, directly impacting transaction confirmation times and overall system stability.
These upgrades directly address user frustration voiced prominently in January. Customers reported unacceptable delays, sometimes hours long, for Solana transactions, even when the underlying Solana network itself was operating normally. Solana is typically known for its rapid transaction finality, making the delays on the exchange particularly noticeable.
This isn’t the first time the exchange has grappled with technical difficulties during peak periods. Notable incidents include a major outage in February 2024 amid a Bitcoin price surge and another slowdown during a Solana rally the following month, underscoring the need for robust infrastructure in the volatile crypto market. Restoring user confidence in its Solana services appears to be a key driver for these latest enhancements.