Phantom Wallet Experiences Outage: What You Need to Know
Phantom Wallet, the leading Web3 wallet in the Solana ecosystem, is currently facing an outage, adding to the list of recent disruptions in the Proof-of-Stake (PoS) layer-1 blockchain network.
Here’s what we know about the Phantom Wallet outage:
- Members of the Solana and Phantom Wallet communities have reported that the browser version of the wallet does not allow them to view submitted transactions.
- Users are unable to submit transactions initiated on Phantom Wallet, with no indication of what might be causing the issue.
- While some users are experiencing account access and transaction completion issues, others claim to have successfully conducted transactions in the past few hours.
- A screenshot shared by independent crypto journalist Colin Wu displayed a “no data” prompt on the overview page of the browser wallet.
- Phantom Wallet has not acknowledged these outage claims, suggesting that the downtime is not affecting all users at this time.
Phantom Wallet’s History of Downtimes
This isn’t the first time Phantom Wallet has experienced downtime. As a Solana-based wallet, such disruptions are not uncommon. In February, Phantom Wallet was hit by a DDoS attack, which led to a temporary halt in transactions and services.
Despite these occasional hiccups, Phantom Wallet has seen significant growth alongside Solana. Just this month, the protocol celebrated 4 million monthly active users. However, this large user base can contribute to congestion on the platform and potentially lead to more issues. As a major transfer from the parent Layer-1 blockchain, Phantom Wallet must address these challenges to ensure a seamless user experience.
Solana Foundation’s Efforts to Resolve Outages
The Solana Foundation recognizes the need for a permanent solution to the network’s regular outages, given Solana’s growing prominence and the increasing dominance of its native digital currency, SOL. To address this issue, the foundation is actively exploring potential solutions:
- The Solana Foundation is considering making priority fee payment a standard for applications built on the network. This approach aims to incentivize users to pay higher fees for faster transaction processing.
- They are also working on design hacks that optimize total compute units (CU) usage. By maximizing the number of transactions that can be processed on the network, Solana aims to enhance its overall throughput and scalability.
While Solana shows great promise, experts believe that the recurring outage problems could hinder its ability to surpass Ethereum if not resolved promptly.
Hot Take: Ensuring Stability in Blockchain Networks
Network outages like the one experienced by Phantom Wallet highlight the importance of stability in blockchain networks. Here are some key takeaways:
- Outages can occur in any blockchain network, including prominent ones like Solana.
- Downtimes can be caused by various factors, such as DDoS attacks or congestion due to high user activity.
- To ensure widespread adoption and compete with established networks like Ethereum, blockchain projects must prioritize stability and work towards permanent solutions for outages.
- Innovations like priority fee payment and optimization of compute unit usage can significantly improve a network’s performance and scalability.
As the cryptocurrency industry continues to evolve, it is crucial for blockchain networks to address these challenges effectively. Stable and reliable networks will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of decentralized finance (DeFi) and other blockchain-based applications.