Ore, a Bitcoin-like mining protocol on the Solana blockchain, accounts for about 14% of the network’s total transactions, according to Top Ledger data.

Since launching its updated Version 2 (V2) on Aug. 6, Ore has seen a significant uptick in mining activity mirroring trends observed during its initial launch in April — a period of high congestion on the Solana network.

Ore

Originally, Ore was designed as an experiment to test the integration of proof-of-work (PoW) with Solana’s fast transaction capabilities. The project sought to combine PoW’s security and distribution with Solana’s efficiency.

Although Ore markets itself as a PoW asset, it does not validate transactions directly. Instead, its PoW-like puzzle serves as a gamified airdrop mechanism, offering rewards to participants.

Ore quickly became one of the most popular protocols on Solana, and it inadvertently exposed several vulnerabilities in the network’s infrastructure. Hardhat Chad, the pseudonymous creator, was forced to suspend mining operations to develop a more efficient V2 contract.

V2

The V2 aims to enhance the original design, address inefficiencies, and incentivize miners to hold the token. Hardhat Chad has also open-sourced the project and called for more community contributions.

He wrote:

“The ORE CLI is open-source and includes many public contributions. If you’ve modded your miner and think the community would benefit from your changes, please open a PR and dm/tag me for review.”

Data from Dune Analytics indicates a substantial increase in miner activity since the V2 launch. More than 30,000 ORE miners have been active in under two days, collectively paying approximately 1,498 SOL, worth about $230,000, in fees.

Top Ledger also noted that the V2 upgrade has significantly improved transaction success rates compared to the original version. It stated:

“Unlike v1, where transactions failed very frequently, the v2 success rate has drastically improved, with less than a 5% failure rate, indicating enhanced mining efficiency and a better user experience.”

Currently, ORE is valued at $185.62, with 14,286 tokens mined. The platform estimates that its total supply of 21 million tokens will be fully mined by 2064.