Expert Explains Why Solana Is Still In Beta Stage Amid Fresh Criticisms

Solana has come under fire for keeping the beta tag as part of its nomenclature five years after its rollout. Helius Labs CEO Mert Mumtaz has defended the decision while hitting back at a raft of fresh criticism for the network.

Expert Reveals That The Beta Tag Is Meaningless

After critics took light-hearted jabs at Solana over the network’s lengthy stay in beta stage, an expert has waded in to clarify the air. According to Helius Labs CEO Mert Mumtaz in an X post, Solana’s decision to stick with the beta tag is mundane and should be ignored.

He adds that despite being in the beta phase, Solana is outperforming its peers across the board. Currently, the Solana network has the highest figures for active addresses and transaction volume, potentially powering the SOL price to $2,000.

“The name ‘beta’ is arbitrary and meaningless,” said Mumtaz. “Although if it’s already doing more scale and revenue than all chains combined, while in beta, then I understand the fear present here.”

Solana’s network still bears Mainnet Beta, but the layer 1 blockchain has seen action in real-world applications. Despite the glowing metrics, Solana is still undergoing improvement and optimization, but it remains unclear when the network will ditch the beta tag.

Pseudonymous cryptocurrency expert Balarchrex pokes holes in Mumtaz’s explanation, noting that the network leans on the beta tag as an excuse during downtimes.

“If the name beta is meaningless, why do you invoke it every time Solana goes down?” asked Balarchrex.

Balarchrex Criticizes Solana Over SOL Holdings And Network Clients

In a back-and-forth with Mumtaz, Balarchrex raised the issue of Solana Foundation’s wallets not being public. He argues that the exact number of SOL held by the Solana Foundation is public knowledge.

Balarchrex adds that institutions may begin pulling out of SOL amid fears of the Solana Foundation dumping tokens on investors.

In his defense, Mumtaz notes that institutional investment in Solana is at an all-time high. The latest is SOL Strategies unveiling a $500 million convertible note to increase its SOL holdings while Galaxy Digital continues to load up on SOL.

Balarchrex goes on to poke holes at the network for having only one client since its launch, noting that Agave and Jito-Agave are merely forks of the Solana code. Mumtaz hit back at the claims, arguing that two independent teams working on the same issue is not a challenge, and it will not adopt the same open-door policy of adopting any client like Ethereum.

Solana price is trading at $150 at the moment amid rising optimising for SOL to reach $200 on the backs of Galaxy Digital replacing its ETH holdings.