Through a collaboration with the Solana Foundation, developer and investor Jump Crypto has created a new client validator for the Solana blockchain.
The new client validator, Firedancer, will be based on the open-source C++ programming language. It is built to work alongside Solana's existing Rust-based client.
In a press release, the company said the new client and the second consensus node would help improve the stability and efficiency of Solana, which is a popular network for decentralized applications and DeFi protocols.
They said Firedancer could help Solana Labs' single client avoid having a supermajority of the platform's assets. It could also help maintain the network's stability if another client encounters issues.
In addition to building networks, Jump Crypto said that the company would help Solana grow by bringing its expertise to the platform. The company revealed plans to provide major upgrades to Solana's open-source core software. It has yet to announce details about the exact changes it would make.
"Right now, Solana's throughput isn't limited by hardware, but by software inefficiencies," a Jump Crypto representative said. "We will bring Jump's performance engineering mindset to Solana's scaling challenges."
The company said it aimed to make significant progress on Firedancer within the next 12 to 24 months. It also explained that all of its open-source development would be conducted in the public sphere and open for community input. Jump Crypto chief science officer Kevin Bowers will lead the project.
Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko said that the company's acquisition of more core contributors such as Jump Crypto would allow it to maintain its position as the best place to build Web3 applications. He asserted that the Jump Crypto engineers would help improve the network's efficiency and resiliency.
"By adding more core contributors like Jump Crypto, the network can maintain its status as the best place to build in Web3 while scaling to billions of users," said Yakovenko. "I'm excited for Jump's engineers to bring a new perspective to the network and help improve network resiliency and efficiency."
Jump Crypto has supported various projects, including the order book Serum and the Phantom wallet, as a core contributor to the Solana ecosystem. It also provided financial assistance to the Solana bridge Wormhole. In February, the company replenished over $320 million worth of ETH following a hacker attack against Wormhole.
Previous network upgrade
In June, Solana announced that it was implementing a fee prioritization model to help mitigate the impact of new tech upgrades on the network. Unlike Ethereum, the new model will not punish users with high fees.
In a postmortem report, the company revealed that the new fee structure would be implemented in phases and utilize a neighborhood fee method that does not affect the wider network. The fee prioritization model was developed following the recent Solana network crash.
Although the new fee structure will affect the fees for certain apps, such as those that allow users to acquire new fiat currency, it will not affect the Solana network's overall efficiency. For instance, people trying to get NFTs in an in-demand mint would pay higher fees, but those transacting elsewhere on the network would not experience a fee spike.