Solana has seen exponential growth in terms of users and smart contracts ever since the pandemic. When Ethereum stepped up its game with Ethereum 2.0 in 2022, Solana had to follow suit. Learn what Solana Firedancer is, how it works, and when it is being released.

Solana Firedancer: A Step Up for the Network

By definition, Solana Firedancer is an upgrade for its client software. Cool, but what is that? In chains running on Proof of Stake (POS), this software works to reach a consensus among all stakeholders. Those who have a high stake, expertise, and good hardware are allowed to install it, hence decentralizing the network.

Now, there can be multiple of those clients. Based on Solana’s Validator Health Report from October 2023, there are two. The central organization behind the network, Solana Labs, develops one. The second came from JitoLabs. The majority uses the former client, 69 % to be exact. The latter operates on 31 % of validators.

But there's a third cowboy in town: company Jump Trading is developing its own promising client called Firedancer. So far, it's expected to launch sometime in 2025, but the client needs to be fully secure to avoid putting the chain in jeopardy, so it might take a bit longer.

Firedancer is another exciting new component coming to the Solana network soon after Solana Blinks became a thing — learn more about them here.

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What Will Solana Firedancer Do

One of the main selling points of most blockchains is that they do not have a single central authority or a single point of failure. There are many ways to achieve this decentralization. One of them is distributed and independent validator clients. Why is it important? 

If a company or organization releases a bugged client or even acts maliciously, other software can plug the gap. That makes the Solana network more reliable and trusted. This is what makes them extremely important. If one company or organization releases a bugged client or even acts maliciously, there will be other software that can plug the gap. The aim is to reduce any chance of a big network outage like the one Solana experienced before.

For comparison,  in 2023, Ethereum mainnet validators used Geth (46.7%), Nethermind (35.6%), Besu (7.5%), Erigon (7.2%), and Reth (2.8%), among others.

Kanav Kariya, president of the company behind the Solana Firedancer, said:

“It’s a chance for a post-facto rewrite of a code that has been put together very quickly and impressively over three years of a hyperscale project.

Solana network has a lot of clever design elements that were designed rather intuitively and through clever pieces of engineering but aren’t really fully specified due to the intense time pressures under which the code base was built.

This is an opportunity for us to clearly specify the entire protocol from scratch, analyze every design decision made, document and benchmark every piece of the software, and get a clean slate.”

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How Firedancer Improves Solana

When we look at the potential benefits, there are many. But be wary of possible risks too.

Benefits of the New Validator Client

• Sharding support: Firedancer will enable sharding, a blockchain technology that significantly enhances scalability. It works because the validators do not have to check the entire blockchain; instead, it is divided into shards.
• Optimized transaction management: A high number of concurrent transactions can be handled, resulting in faster transaction times. So far, this claim from developers remains speculative. One theory is that this improvement is due to the use of C and C++ languages in Firedancer.
• Reduced volume: The employment of compression and data batching will reduce the raw volume of data transferred between nodes. This should, among other things, lead to better utilization of smart contracts.
• Opening of new DeFi market on Solana: Crypto research firm Messari suggests that there is potential for a new decentralized finance (DeFi) market on Solana.

When it comes to challenges, one notable issue is the risk associated with software integration. Node operators have to familiarize themselves with it and also be ready for any issues that might arise.

One person at Jump Trading mentioned that, although they do not believe a core mainnet overhaul is needed to minimize the risk of disruptions, Solana has had its fair share of issues in the past, which Firedancer is aiming to improve. He added:

"Solana’s mainnet has experienced several production halts, requiring the intervention of numerous validator operators to restore functionality. These outages have led to concerns about the network’s reliability.”

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Solana Firedancer Release Date

The initial testnet version, nicknamed Frankendancer, has been running since mid-2024. To accompany the launch, the company Jump Trading offered a total of 1 million USD to individuals who manage to find and report bugs within the application. As mentioned above, the launch must be flawless to avoid endangering the network. The software itself has been in development since Q3 2022.

In Amsterdam, while attending the Solana Breakpoint 2023 conference, Dan Albert, representing the Solana Foundation, said that the Firedancer testnet would be running in the second half of 2023, and the mainnet should be released sometime in 2025. 

Given that the testnet arrived on time, possibly even a few weeks early, I believe the year 2025 should be accurate. Once Firedancer establishes itself, Solana will be able to pursue the prestigious position of being the most scalable Layer 1 blockchain.

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