what's Firedancer?
Firedancer is an independent, high-performance validator client for the Solana blockchain, developed by Jump Crypto. Written from scratch in C++, it aims to enhance Solana's transaction processing speed, security, and network resilience by introducing client diversity. The software reimplements core Solana primitives with optimizations drawn from low-latency trading expertise, enabling theoretical throughput of up to 1 million transactions per second in benchmarks. Key features include a restrictive sandbox for security, minimal system calls, and modular architecture allowing hybrid use (e.g., Frankendancer combines Firedancer components with existing Solana labs code). It supports Solana's proof-of-stake consensus while reducing risks from single-client dominance, helping prevent network outages. Firedancer is open-source on GitHub, with ongoing development including QUIC protocol for efficient transaction ingest.
Firedancer's base58 support now integrated into ClickHouse.
Firedancer base58 support was integrated into ClickHouse.
Integrated with SpherePay to power their custom client for the Fogo network, providing on-ramp and off-ramp support through both dashboard and API interfaces.
Shipped in Q4 2025 but did not achieve 100K TPS.
Alpenglow and multiple concurrent proposers are on the horizon as upcoming infrastructure developments, according to Breakpoint 25 conference takeaways.
Solana violates a safety rule that Ethereum treats as non-negotiable following the live launch.
Solana co-founder removed beta designation after reaching 33% stake on mainnet, released version 0.811.30108 recommended for Mainnet validators.
Firedancer officially launches on Solana mainnet after running on validators for 100 days and successfully producing 50,000 blocks.
Firedancer full client is now available and currently undergoing audit.
Firedancer blocks are now live on Solana mainnet, announced at Breakpoint conference.
Firedancer release date to be announced this week at Solana Breakpoint conference.
Targets 1M TPS and sub-100ms latency; mainnet activation Q2 2026, tied to Alpenglow.
All Firedancer Transaction Processing Units drop transactions that sell SOL or SOL LSTs or involve short positions, with Agave client planning to adopt similar behavior.
REV scheduler deprecated by Firedancer team, eliminating the previous arrangement where Jito had 85% slot exclusivity.
Figment's main Solana validator migrates to Frankendancer, with early data showing consistently higher rewards from denser blocks and stronger MEV capture with stable latency.
Frankendancer, an early version of the validator client, has secured over 25% of total staked SOL on Solana, representing 106.28M SOL.
Firedancer powers multiple validators within Marinade Finance's select validator network on Solana.
Partnered with AptosLabs; expected to increase Solana throughput 10x and make programs 10x faster.