The King of Blockchain Performance Revealed: The Speed Advantage of Solana

A recent blockchain performance report shows that Solana has the fastest speed among large blockchains, with a maximum daily real TPS reaching 1,054. Following closely is Sui, with a maximum daily real TPS of 854. BSC ranks third, but its TPS is less than half of Sui's.

It is worth noting that the best-performing Solana and Sui are both non-EVM compatible blockchains. Data shows that the average real TPS of 8 non-EVM compatible blockchains is 284, while the average TPS of 17 EVM compatible blockchains and Ethereum Layer 2 is only 74. This means that the performance of non-EVM compatible blockchains is about 4 times that of EVM compatible blockchains.

Performance Bottlenecks of EVM-Compatible Blockchains

Generally speaking, the methods for improving TPS in blockchain include: enhancing node performance, improving underlying protocols, expanding blocks, optimizing consensus protocols, and improving transaction execution methods.

For EVM blockchains, the biggest challenge lies in transaction execution due to the fixed virtual machine environment. EVM mainly has two performance issues:

1. 256-bit architecture: Although it facilitates the handling of Ethereum's hash algorithm, the actual operation requires mapping 256-bit bytes to the local architecture, resulting in inefficiency.

2. Lack of Standard Library: Solidity does not have a built-in standard library and needs to be implemented by oneself. Although there are third-party libraries like OpenZeppelin, the execution speed of EVM bytecode is far inferior to that of pre-compiled standard libraries.

In addition, the EVM also faces challenges such as difficulties in static analysis and the immaturity of JIT compilers, both of which limit its performance optimization potential.

Performance Advantages of Solana

Solana is known for its PoH (Proof of History) mechanism and high throughput. The PoH mechanism uses a continuously running hashing algorithm to create a verifiable time sequence, providing a reliable time source for the network.

The consensus process of Solana is based on PoH, allowing the network to rotate leaders in a predetermined manner. Each time slot lasts 400 milliseconds, and a leader is rotated every 4 slots. The leader is responsible for proposing new blocks, while other validators verify and vote. This mechanism ensures the decentralization and security of the network.

The high performance of Solana is attributed to several innovative technologies:

1. Gulf Stream: Allows for rapid leader switching and pre-execution of trades.

2. Assembly line technology: Optimize hardware utilization, accelerate block verification and transmission.

3. Sealevel: Achieving parallel execution of transactions.

4. Turbine: Optimize block propagation and reduce bandwidth usage.

5. TowerBFT: An efficient consensus mechanism that merges fork votes in real-time.

6. Cloudbreak: An efficient data persistence solution.

7. Archiver: Transfers data storage from validators to a specialized node network.

These technologies theoretically enable Solana to reach a maximum speed of 65,000 TPS.

Summary

The high performance and scalability of Solana make it an ideal platform for handling high-frequency trading and complex smart contracts. Whether in the DePIN/AI field or the recently popular Meme coin market, Solana has shown great potential.

Although the SEC still classifies Solana as a security and it's unlikely to approve its ETF in the short term, the consensus around Solana is gradually strengthening in the crypto market. With increasing recognition in the market, Solana is expected to play a more significant role in the blockchain ecosystem in the future.