Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced that the exchange has resolved a significant backlog of Solana transactions.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced that the exchange has resolved a significant backlog of Solana transactions caused by congestion linked to the launch of the Official Trump (TRUMP) meme coin. The issue led to delays of up to 21 hours, affecting many users. On Jan. 22, Armstrong took to social media to update users, apologizing for the inconvenience and encouraging those with canceled transactions to retry them.
The meme coin frenzy, driven by high demand for Trump-themed tokens, caused disruptions across Solana’s network. The network itself did not experience an outage, however, applications like Phantom, Jito, and Jupiter were impacted. The surge in activity began on Jan. 19, coinciding with TRUMP's launch, which caused Solana’s transaction fees to skyrocket. That same day, fees reached $17.8 million before decreasing to $11.7 million by Jan. 21. In comparison, Solana’s daily fees were much lower throughout December 2024, ranging from $2.7 million to $5.25 million.
The launch of TRUMP also led to an impressive price rally for Solana’s native token, SOL. The token hit a new all-time high of $293 on Jan. 19, while Solana’s total value locked (TVL) surged to $13.9 billion, according to DefiLlama. Additionally, SOL’s market capitalization rose to approximately $127 billion. The meme coin hype had broader effects, as search volumes for terms like “buy Solana,” “buy crypto,” and “Coinbase” spiked on Google.
Armstrong responded to the backlog by emphasizing that Coinbase would improve its infrastructure to better support Solana’s ecosystem, including decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and the growing meme coin market. He outlined the company’s goal to provide tier-one support for Solana, bringing it on par with other major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Base.
Despite these setbacks, Armstrong noted that the high demand indicated growth for Solana’s ecosystem. Previously, Solana had experienced delays of up to 45 minutes on Coinbase, often related to wallet maintenance or network congestion. The latest delays, however, highlighted the exchange’s need for better systems to handle increased traffic during peak periods.
The meme coin launch boosted Solana’s status, pushing it further into the spotlight. Coinbase’s efforts to resolve the congestion are part of a broader strategy to ensure smooth operations during future spikes in trading activity. With the network’s increased popularity, Coinbase is committed to scaling its infrastructure to meet the growing demands of the Solana community.
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