Hey folks, if you're deep into the world of meme tokens on Solana, you've probably felt the thrill—and the occasional frustration—of trading on a chain that's pushing boundaries. Recently, Mert, the CEO of Helius Labs, dropped a gem of a tweet that's got everyone talking about progress, risks, and why Solana's past hiccups were actually stepping stones to greatness.

In his post, Mert shares a clip from what looks like a lively discussion on the "Helius/Mert Edition" podcast, featuring voices from the crypto space like Lukas from QuantoTrade and @SayuukiXBT. The caption nails it: "to make progress, you have to take risks people will hate and mock, but without those taking risks, things stagnate if solana hadn't gone down in '21, it wouldn't have done 100k TPS this week — the scalability required to push crypto fwd."

The Clip That Says It All

The video clip Mert attached is a short but powerful snippet where he breaks down Solana's philosophy on risk-taking. Here's a quick paraphrase of what he says: If Solana had just jacked up fees during congestion back in 2021-2022 to avoid downtime, sure, it might have stayed online. But that safe play wouldn't have forced the innovations needed for long-term scalability. By embracing those risks early, Solana is now hitting mind-blowing speeds—like 100,000 transactions per second (TPS) this week in 2025. That's the kind of forward-thinking that keeps the chain ahead for the next decade or two.

For the uninitiated, TPS stands for Transactions Per Second, basically a measure of how many actions (like buying or selling a token) a blockchain can handle without breaking a sweat. Solana's always aimed high here, and meme token traders know why that matters—nothing kills a pump faster than network congestion.

Solana's Rocky Road: From Downtime to Dominance

Let's rewind a bit. Back in 2021, Solana faced some serious outages. The network got overwhelmed by massive demand, leading to hours of downtime. Haters piled on, calling it unreliable and mocking the team. But as Mert points out, those failures weren't endpoints; they were feedback loops. The Solana devs used them to overhaul the system, introducing upgrades like better congestion management and optimizations that have steadily ramped up performance.

Fast-forward to today, August 2025, and Solana's crushing it with 100K TPS peaks. This isn't just a stat—it's a game-changer for the ecosystem. Meme tokens, which thrive on hype, virality, and lightning-fast trades, benefit hugely. Think about it: on slower chains, a hot meme launch can grind everything to a halt with sky-high fees. On Solana, you can snipe that next big dog-themed coin or cat meme without waiting ages or paying an arm and a leg.

Projects like Pump.fun and countless meme token launches owe a lot to this scalability. It's why Solana has become the go-to playground for meme creators and traders, outpacing competitors in sheer volume and fun.

Lessons for Meme Token Hustlers

Mert's message resonates beyond just Solana—it's a blueprint for anyone in crypto, especially in the wild world of memes. Launching a meme token? You're taking risks too. People might mock your frog or pepe derivative, call it a scam, or say the market's saturated. But without creators willing to experiment, the space stagnates. Just like Solana's team pushed through criticism to build something better, successful meme projects often start with bold moves.

Here are a few takeaways:

• Embrace Failure as Fuel: That failed launch or rug pull scare? Learn from it. Solana's downtimes led to breakthroughs; your missteps can sharpen your strategy.
• Scalability Wins the Long Game: For meme tokens, being on a chain like Solana means more liquidity and fewer barriers. High TPS = more traders = bigger pumps.
• Ignore the Noise: Haters gonna hate, but progress demands ignoring the short-term mockery. Focus on building real value—or in memes, real community vibes.

If you're trading memes on Solana, keep an eye on tools from Helius—they provide RPCs and APIs that make interacting with the chain smoother, helping you stay ahead in this fast-paced market.

Wrapping Up: Risks Lead to Rewards

Mert's tweet is a reminder that in crypto, especially the meme token niche, stagnation is the real enemy. Solana's journey from '21 outages to '25 dominance shows how calculated risks can redefine what's possible. Whether you're a dev, trader, or just a meme enthusiast, this is the mindset that drives the next wave of innovation.

What do you think—ready to take some risks on your next meme play? Drop your thoughts in the comments, and stay tuned to Meme Insider for more updates on the hottest tokens and blockchain tech.

Check out the original tweet here for the full clip and join the conversation!