Solana blockchain down since 10:22 UTC, validators prepare for restart

Update: Nearly 40 minutes into Solana’s first major outage of 2024, Solana validators started preparing for a restart.

The Solana mainnet is experiencing downtime in block production, and block progression is currently halted, with core engineers and validators actively investigating. The Solana blockchain explorer confirmed the downtime by flashing a “major outage” on the mainnet.

Users on social media started to notice that the Solana blockchain hadn’t produced a block in over 25 minutes, which is considerably longer than its usual block production time of 400 milliseconds.

Solana validator Stakewiz stated that developers are currently building a release containing a fix. Once it’s built and tested, further instructions will be released to validators. Stakewiz also noted that validators have “begun generating snapshots using their local ledger state to prepare for a restart” as core engineers prepare the release.

Validators have begun generating snapshots using their local ledger state to prepare for a restart. Core engineers are still preparing the release.

— Laine ❤️ stakewiz.com (@laine_sa_) February 6, 2024

The Solana network outage has already started to impact crypto exchanges, with Upbit announcing it will suspend deposits and withdrawals of Solana-based tokens such as Solana’s ( SOL ), GMT, Raydium (RAY) and Access Protocol’s (ACS).

Related: Solana’s genesis story: Anatoly Yakovenko’s vision for a high-performance blockchain

This is not the first time the Solana blockchain has faced a network outage or downtime in block production. The network has been plagued with multiple outages since its launch, and the latest outage will be the eleventh in two years.

The Solana blockchain was launched in March 2020, focusing on offering scalable solutions for a decentralized ecosystem rivaling Ethereum with faster transaction processing times and lower transaction fees. The network grew in prominence during the last bull cycle in 2021 due to an increasing adoption rate and token price. However, network-related issues have persisted, with developers having to restart the network multiple times.

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