Solana recorded 8.92 billion transactions in one quarter! In the second half of the public blockchain race, what matters may not be who shouts the loudest

In the past, when discussing competition among public blockchains, people liked to compare TPS, fees, and whose technical specs looked better. Now that applications are actually being deployed, the questions are becoming more practical: Are users willing to come? Are the applications easy to use? Can the network support demand over the long term?
Solana posted impressive figures for the third quarter of 2026: non-vote transactions reached 8.92 billion, up 104% from the fourth quarter of 2025.
These figures are worth noting, but what really deserves discussion is not just the transaction count, but the direction of competition it may reveal.
First, low costs and high efficiency can help lower the barrier to using on-chain applications. For frequent trading, blockchain games, and high-frequency interactions, every improvement in the user experience could affect whether users choose to stick around.
Second, the application ecosystem determines whether traffic can be sustained. If users come only for short-term incentives and leave when a campaign ends, even the most impressive transaction curve may prove fleeting.
Finally, network activity must be linked to economic value. Whether developers can continually attract users, applications can generate revenue, and the ecosystem can draw long-term capital are key dimensions for assessing the quality of growth.
Of course, 8.92 billion transactions alone cannot prove that Solana has already won the public blockchain race. It is more like a report card for this stage: worth celebrating, but far too early to hand out the trophy.
The real winner in the future may not be the public blockchain best at producing impressive numbers, but the network able to turn its technological advantages into user habits and sustained demand.
Transaction volume drives attention; user retention and economic value are more likely to determine long-term competitiveness.
If you were a developer, would you prioritize a public blockchain with low transaction costs, or one with a more mature user base and application ecosystem?
$NVDA #Solana上季非投票交易达89.2亿笔