I love Solana, but I can still see its flaws!
Here are 10 things you should know about Solana
1-Bots constantly exploit and front-run users with slippage.
This issue affects all chains except centralized ones like Ethereum's Base/Arbitrum or Cardano’s L2s, where a sequencer can capture fees, reducing staker rewards.
It’s a trade-off of centralized L2s, not something to brag about.
2-Transactions fail without enough slippage, but users still pay for the failed attempts.
If a swap doesn't meet user demands, you still pay since the network processed it as instructed.
Failed transactions count in TPS metrics, just like on Ethereum.
3-FTX is selling off $7.5 billion in $SOL , with a significant unlock in March 2025 and monthly unlocks continuing until 2028.
FTX already has new buyers lined up, and they’ll sell like any asset.
Institutional buyers have stronger hands than typical crypto traders, and institutional interest isn't always bad.
4-The blockchain has experienced at least 12 major outages so far.
Despite Solana’s outages, improvements are happening with Firedancer and a multi-client setup like #Ethereum✅ .
It's stayed up through meme mania and ore mining, showing progress, while centralized L2s often fail.
5-RPC providers can front-run your transactions.
Any RPC node can misuse your data, so always pick trusted ones.
This applies to Ethereum too.
Fact is, if people are trading there will always be order to the trades and there will always be a way to re-order for some value extraction.
6-Their TPS is misleadingly marketed as 3000, but it includes voting and failed transactions. The real TPS is around 600.
TPS metrics are complex, tracked by third-party block explorers, and include vote transactions, which fit Solana’s consensus model.
Solana handles 800+ non-vote TPS and aims for 50k-200k with updates like Firedancer.
7-A recent vote passed, giving validators (the wealthy) 100% of high-priority transactions.
A recent Solana change removed a burn mechanism tied to tipping to prevent deals with validators, improving rewards and network health.
People were tipping outside the network to avoid the burn, hurting Solana's incentives.
8-Becoming a validator requires significant wealth.
While Solana validators cost more, they’re rewarded for better performance, helping Solana meet demand, an issue Cardano doesn’t face, and Ethereum has outsourced to L2s.
9-Solana has been in beta for 4.5 years.
Calling something "beta" seems fine, odd to point out? Maybe Cardano should use it to explain its low adoption.
10-Solana's circulating supply grew by 59.09 million last year, effectively printing $8.5 billion.
Solana's circulating supply grew due to early investment unlocks and inflation, but unlocks are winding down.
Inflation is around 3.5%, decreasing yearly until it hits 1.5%.
All networks have flaws and strengths, yet Solana leads in most metrics.
$SOL consistently outperforms competitors, attracting more activity and developers.
Criticism often comes from holders of underperforming altcoins.
I hope you've found this article helpful.
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