Solana Hit by One of the Largest DDoS Attacks Ever Recorded
Solana’s network resilience was pushed to the limit this week after reports emerged that the blockchain was hit by a massive distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack reaching nearly six terabits per second (Tbps). The scale of the attack places it among the largest internet assaults ever reported, rivaling traffic volumes typically associated with global cloud infrastructure incidents.
Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko confirmed the situation in a post on X, stating that the network was actively handling the attack. While independent verification of the exact volume remains difficult, several ecosystem participants echoed the claim, describing the traffic as “industrial-scale.”
Why the Attack Didn’t Take Solana Offline
A DDoS attack typically aims to overwhelm a network with junk traffic, causing outages, transaction delays, or network instability. However, despite the reported load, Solana continued producing blocks normally, with no widespread reports of halted transactions or missed slots.
Yakovenko described the attack as “bullish” suggesting that the attacker was spending an amount comparable to Solana’s total network revenue just to flood the system. Ecosystem infrastructure provider Pipe Network reinforced this view, noting that under such pressure, most systems would show rising latency or confirmation failures - outcomes that did not materialize on Solana.
The ongoing DDoS attack on @solana is one of the largest in internet history.
— Pipe Network (@pipenetwork) December 16, 2025
6 Tbps volumetric attack translates to billions of packets per second.
Under that kind of load, you'd normally expect rising latency, missed slots, or confirmation delays.
Instead, data shows:
•… https://t.co/QxpzOBOSh2 pic.twitter.com/P601xSgHiE
The ongoing DDoS attack on @solana is one of the largest in internet history.
— Pipe Network (@pipenetwork) December 16, 2025
6 Tbps volumetric attack translates to billions of packets per second.
Under that kind of load, you'd normally expect rising latency, missed slots, or confirmation delays.
Instead, data shows:
•… https://t.co/QxpzOBOSh2 pic.twitter.com/P601xSgHiE
A Painful History of Downtime Still Looms
Solana’s past reliability issues make the event particularly significant. The network has experienced multiple high-profile outages over the years, including a 17-hour shutdown in 2021 caused by transaction congestion during a token launch. In 2022 alone, Solana suffered several outages linked to bot spam, consensus bugs, and fork failures.
While these incidents damaged the network’s reputation, the trend has improved. Solana recorded only one downtime in 2023 and one in 2024, marking a sharp decline in failures compared to earlier years. The ability to withstand a DDoS attack of this magnitude without going offline may signal a turning point for Solana’s infrastructure maturity.
How Solana Compares to Bitcoin on Uptime
Despite recent improvements, Solana still lags behind Bitcoin in terms of historical reliability. Bitcoin has maintained over 99.99% uptime, with only two downtime incidents since its launch in 2009. The most recent occurred in 2013 and was resolved without creating new BTC.
That contrast remains a common criticism among Solana skeptics. However, supporters argue that Solana’s higher throughput and lower fees inherently expose it to different stress vectors - ones that Bitcoin’s slower, more conservative design avoids.
Why This Stress Test Matters for Solana’s Future
Surviving a 6 Tbps DDoS attack without visible disruption strengthens the case that Solana’s technical upgrades are working. It also sends a signal to developers, institutions, and users that the network can handle real-world adversarial conditions - not just ideal environments.
As Solana continues positioning itself as a high-performance blockchain for DeFi, NFTs, and consumer applications, network stability is no longer optional. This event may not erase past outages, but it does suggest that Solana is finally growing into its ambitions.
