Analysts from Bernstein have recently highlighted the significant progress of the Solana network in the payment industry. Despite challenges related to scalability, the network’s enhanced liquidity and positive sentiment from investors have propelled it into a prominent position for Blockchain-based payment processing. Notably, Solana has gained traction within the stablecoin sector.
Solana’s Payment Processing Leadership
Solana’s share of the stablecoin market, according to Bernstein analysts Gautam Chhugani and Mahika Sapra, stands at an impressive 43%, indicating its dominance in value transfers over traditional leaders like Ethereum. The increase in Solana’s market presence is attributed to its efficient structure, which supports high transaction volumes and affordable fees, streamlining stablecoin transactions without the need for complex Ethereum Layer 2 bridging solutions.
However, the network still lags behind Ethereum in terms of total stablecoins issued on its platform. Ethereum’s USD Coin (USDC) alone boasts a supply of $26.4 billion, dwarfing the $2.2 billion managed on Solana, despite the latter hosting key stablecoins such as USDC. This underlines Ethereum’s continued dominance in stablecoin issuance.
Enhancing Solana’s Network Throughput
Bernstein analysts recognize the need for Solana to boost its transactions per second (TPS) to effectively mitigate current congestion issues and enter mainstream payment markets. Although the network has forged significant partnerships with industry giants such as Visa and Shopify, it has yet to break into the consumer and B2B payment sectors on a large scale due to these scalability challenges.
Points to take into account
- Solana holds a significant stake in the stablecoin transfer market.
- The network’s single-layer architecture and direct exchange access streamline transactions.
- Despite strides in stablecoin settlement, Solana trails in overall stablecoin issuance compared to Ethereum.
- Scalability and network congestion remain key issues to be addressed for broader payment sector integration.
Despite its advancements, Solana continues to face network congestion, leading to transaction delays and service disruptions. The development team is actively working on software updates to address these problems and improve the network’s overall performance and reliability.