Solana's 'Million-Payments-a-Second' System Leaves Sellers at Risk

Solana's payment channel system has been praised for its ability to process over one million payments per second, but it also poses risks for sellers. If a customer stops buying AI services before the channel finishes paying, the seller may not receive their payment even if they have delivered the service.

The Solana Foundation's September 3 payment-channel announcement reported that more than one million payments per second were made through a proxy using 100,000 unique wallets. The system allows agents to spend against a prepaid ceiling through signed messages, reducing the need for separate blockchain transactions for every delivery.

However, if the operator goes silent in between, the customer needs a way to recover the remaining deposit, while the merchant needs their last bill to reach the blockchain before the recovery window closes. The Solana Foundation's benchmark template warns that restarting its default in-memory store can forfeit vouchers accepted but not yet settled.

The system has two routes for refunds: one is through final settlement and sealing of the channel, while the other is through a forced close with a 15-minute grace period. During this time, anyone can submit the sealing instruction, allowing the customer to withdraw their deposit minus the on-chain settled amount.