Hackers Nearly Froze the Solana Network: SOL USD Down -3.2%

Ben Graham · Segunda em 07:02

Solana developers rushed out an urgent patch after discovering flaws that could have allowed hackers to stall the network, potentially costing millions of dollars and pushing the SOL USD price down further.

This news broke at a time when sentiment across crypto, especially on the Solana network, is in the gutter, with the Pump.fun-led memecoin space continuing on from its horrendous 2025, with a poor start to 2026 also.

BREAKING:

Solana issued an urgent update, Agave v3.0.14, containing critical patches for Mainnet Beta validators. The update revealed a flaw that could have allowed hackers to stall the network.

— Global Feed (@global_feed_) January 26, 2026

SOL USD is down over -3% in the past 24 hours, trading around $121.90, as traders weighed fear-driven headlines against the fact that no attack has materialized.

The timing matters because Solana is a widely used network due to its speed, low fees, and (mostly) reliability, which enable it to serve an entire memecoin sector, a full-fledged DeFi ecosystem, and multiple AI projects.

What Was The Risk to The Solana Network and Has It Passed?

Solana runs on a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) system in which validators run specialized nodes that maintain blockchain security and integrity by verifying transactions, ordering them, and creating new blocks to reach consensus.

On Solana and other PoS networks, users lock up capital (stake) as collateral to ensure honest behavior, earning transaction fees and rewards while risking their stake (slashing) if they act maliciously or fail to perform their duties.

A blog post from January 16 by Anza, the team behind Solana’s main software client, highlighted two bugs as posing a real danger.

One flaw would’ve allowed attackers to crash validators via the network’s message-sharing system, while another would’ve allowed spammed voting messages to slow or halt consensus, which is how the chain agrees on new blocks.

The ultimate risk is that if enough validators go offline, the chain stalls. Not only does this mean no trades, no DeFi, no NFTs, and no new memecoins, but the fear and panic that a network shutdown would cause would likely see the SOL USD price hit fresh lows.

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Why Validator Coordination is the Real Risk

URGENT RELEASE: The v3.0.14 release is now recommended for general use by Mainnet-Beta validators.

This release contains a critical set of patches and should be applied to staked and unstaked Mainnet-Beta validators.

— Solana Status (@SolanaStatus) January 10, 2026

Solana is not one computer. There are thousands of machines run by different people all around the world. Each operator must update their software during emergencies to ensure these security risks never come to fruition.

Early data showed that only about 18% of staked SOL upgraded quickly after the patch went live. That gap exposed a soft spot. Speed means nothing if updates move slowly.

The Solana Foundation responded by tightening rules. Validators now risk losing delegated stake if they ignore required software versions. Money talks, and this move turns security into an economic rule rather than a polite request.

The security risk came to light on X when the @SolanaStatus account posted, “URGENT RELEASE: The v3.0.14 release is now recommended for general use by Mainnet-Beta validators. This release contains a critical set of patches and should be applied to staked and unstaked Mainnet-Beta validators.”

As of now, the threat appears to have passed with the patch applied, a positive piece of news for the Solana community at a time when good news in crypto is becoming increasingly scarce.

Solana’s Bigger Ambitions Threatened by Recurring Network Outage Threat

BREAKING

SOLANA NETWORK HAS STOPPED PROCESSING TRANSACTIONS DUE TO AN OUTAGE

THEIR LEAD ENGINEER, PICTURED BELOW, IS WORKING ON A FIX pic.twitter.com/G3lDjSHJ48

— SHARK (@SharkAnth0ny) February 6, 2024

This matters more now because Solana wants institutional trust. Payment giants and banks are testing the chain, and institutional adoption on Solana depends on uptime.

Solana fans point out that the patch worked. The network stayed online. No funds were lost. That is true. But history adds weight. Solana suffered seven major outages between 2020 and 2024, including a five-hour halt in February 2024.

However, on December 9, 2025, the Solana community took to X to celebrate 670 consecutive days without a network outage, which has now stretched to over 700, as this most recent threat never actually led to the chain coming to a halt.

For Solana to realize its dream of graduating from being a chain known mostly for its rug-pull-filled memecoin sector, which saw an estimated 97% loss rate for investors in 2025, these network outage threats need to be eradicated.

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