Solana Enhances Scalability and Quantum Security to Challenge Ethereum

Recently, we have seen several discussions about the scalability and security of blockchain networks, especially with the advancement of quantum computing. In this context, Solana comes with important news: its developers are working on significant updates to boost the network's performance and security, seeking to overcome scalability challenges and shield itself against quantum threats, in a clear attempt to position itself as a strong competitor to Ethereum.

One of the main initiatives under development is a solution to address Solana’s scalability challenges. The core proposal is to implement a lattice-based system that enhances block computation. This innovative approach introduces the so-called “Accounts Lattice Hash,” which uses homomorphic hashing to efficiently compute a hash of the entire account state.

“This proposal adds a new hash, Accounts Lattice Hash, which uses homomorphic hashing to maintain a hash of the total account state. The Accounts Lattice Hash is fast to update and secure, allowing (1) each block to contain the hash of all accounts, rather than just the accounts changed in that block, and (2) removing the Epoch Accounts Hash,” highlighted the developers.

In the proposal, the developers explained that the primary goal is to scale Solana to billions of accounts and compute a “hash of all accounts” in practical time and space. Currently, there are two main types of account hashes used on Solana: Epoch Accounts Hash, a merkle-based hash of the total account state; and Accounts Delta Hash, a merkle-based hash of accounts written in a single block.

“Both hashes have limitations. They compute the root of a Merkle tree of accounts, sorted by public key, which makes scaling challenging due to the amount of data required. This is also why there are two distinct hashes: the Epoch Accounts Hash hashes all accounts, but infrequently; and the Accounts Delta Hash is every block, but contains only the subset of accounts written in that block. Ideally, each block would contain a hash of the full account state.”

If this proposal is approved, Solana will be optimized to support billions of accounts while maintaining fast and secure computations, a significant step towards improving the performance and reliability of the blockchain.

At the time of publication, the price of Solana was quoted at US$211,19, down 4.7% in the last 24 hours.