Solana

Solana is an open source project implementing a new, high-performance, permissionless blockchain. Solana is a general purpose blockchain similar to Ethereum. End user applications as of now include decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFT), marketplaces, games, and more. It aims to improve scalability by introducing a proof-of-history (PoH) consensus combined with the underlying proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus of the blockchain.

Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko published a whitepaper describing Proof of History, a technique that would become critical to Solana's blockchain infrastructure, in Nov. 2017. 

Co-founder Greg Fitzgerald, who had worked with Yakovenko at Qualcomm, began prototyping the open source implementation of the whitepaper. It was published under the name Silk in 2018. 

After starting the company under the name Loom, Yakovenko, Fitzgerald, and other co-founders rebranded to Solana. Solana launched on Mainnet Beta in March 2020.

Solana was built to facilitate the development of scalable, user-friendly decentralized apps with low costs and high speeds for transactions.

Solana believes its unique blockchain architecture that combines the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism and its own proof of history mechanism is the key to achieving these goals.

Proof of history works almost like a cryptographic timestamp that proves that an event has occurred at a specific time. It enables the blockchain to work fast while maintaining security and decentralization.

There are about 304 million SOL in circulation as of November 2021. Solana has an initial inflation rate of 8%, which will decrease by 15% a year until it reaches a long-term inflation rate of 1.5%. SOL is Solana’s native token.

Solana competes with other blockchain platforms such as Ethereum and Avalanche to host crypto projects such as NFTs, decentralized exchanges, and gaming. 

Developers and users flocked from Ethereum to Solana due to high transaction costs, but many could gravitate back towards Ethereum if it manages to lower costs, which could happen as a result of the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade and layer 2 rollups. 

Solana.com
Docs.solana.com/history
Forums.solana.com

CoinDesk and the Solana Foundation said the developer event will kick off Consensus Hong Kong on Feb. 11, setting the tone for a week focused on builders, capital, and policymakers.

Solana Accelerate to open Consensus Hong Kong in February

Solana Mobile announced it will airdrop its native ecosystem token, SKR, to Seeker device users and app developers on January 20.

Solana Mobile Gears Up to Airdrop SKR Token to Seeker Phone Users—But Not Saga Owners

Solana ended 2025 with record revenue, transaction activity, and trading volumes across its ecosystem. Growth spanned apps, assets, DEXs, and trading platforms, underscoring the network's expanding role in crypto markets.

Solana's Ecosystem Hits $2.39 Billion Revenue High in 2025

Bitcoin

Ethereum

Rising ETF trading volumes in Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), and Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) are emerging as a key signal behind crypto's strong start to 2026, reflecting shifting investor conviction rather than short-term speculation.

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana ETF Volume Fuel Crypto's Strong Start To 2026—Can It Last?

The team said that 20% of the total supply has been set aside for users and developers eligible to receive tokens.

Solana Mobile sets Jan. 21 launch date for SKR token, confirms airdrop

The Solana blockchain is the dominant force behind the exponential rise of tokenized stocks, onchain data shows.

Solana Leads Rise of Tokenized Stocks as Total AUM Cracks $1 Billion Mark

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) on Tuesday filed for an Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) Trust with the SEC, marking the bank's third crypto ETF filing in 48 hours after registering Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) trusts earlier this week. Ethereum Trust Will Stake ETH For Yield The Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust will be a passive investment vehicle sponsored by Morgan Stanley Investment Management, holding ether directly and valuing shares daily based on a pricing benchmark derived from major trading venues, Decrypt reported.

Morgan Stanley Files Third Crypto ETF In 48 Hours As Ethereum Trust Follows Bitcoin, Solana

FRNT, issued under the Wyoming Stable Token Act, represents the first blockchain-based asset backed by a U.S. state.

‘A milestone in financial innovation': Wyoming issues first state-backed stablecoin on Solana

Upexi continues to add SOL and reduce its share count through buybacks and insider purchases despite weak equity performance.

Upexi targets higher-yield Solana treasury strategy for 2026 as holdings near 2.2 million SOL

Major banks are beating down the doors to get into the crypto game, and Morgan Stanley just became the first major player to make an ETF move.

Morning Minute: Morgan Stanley Files for Bitcoin, ETH and Solana ETFs

Morgan Stanley has filed with the SEC for a spot Ethereum ETF that includes staking exposure hours after submitting BTC and SOL ETF filings.

Morgan Stanley widens crypto bet with proposed spot Ethereum ETF after Bitcoin and Solana filings

The Wall Street giant is widening its crypto push, following bitcoin and solana ETF filings with a potential ether trust.

Morgan Stanley files for ether trust after bitcoin and solana ETF push

Solana saw $1.4 billion in REV, a controversial measure of user-generated value, while driving down average network fees.

‘The year of revenue, assets, and trading': Ethereum and Solana boast growth in 2025

Cardano

Zcash (CRYPTO: ZEC) is up 780% year-over-year, with Arthur Hayes betting big on privacy coins becoming 2026's dominant narrative, all the while established altcoins Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) and Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA) underperform. Hayes' Privacy Bet The former BitMEX CEO said in his latest essay that his fund, Maelstrom, went heavily long ZEC after accumulating positions in Q3 2025, wagering that privacy will emerge as crypto's dominant narrative this year.

SOL & ADA Are 2025's Trades—This Privacy Coin Leads The 2026 Narrative

One expert says this could nudge other major investment firms to launch in-house branded spot Bitcoin ETFs.

‘Shocker': Morgan Stanley's Bitcoin and Solana ETF filings signal deep institutional commitment to crypto

The following article is adapted from The Block's newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.

The Daily: Morgan Stanley files for spot Bitcoin and Solana ETFs as inflows enter 2026 ‘like a lion,' and more

The Solana ecosystem is back in good form this week, with practically every major asset seeing impressive growth.

Solana News: Meme Coins Rebound as Crypto Market and SOL Sector Defrost

Solana's (SOL) price has broken above the moving average lines, reaching a high of $137.50.

Coinidol.com: Solana Rebounds with a Peak of $138

Morgan Stanley files for Bitcoin and Solana ETFs as crypto investment products gain Wall Street traction with $119 billion in BTC assets under management.

Morgan Stanley Registers Bitcoin and Solana Funds With SEC

Financial giant Morgan Stanley has officially stepped deeper into crypto's regulated arena, filing paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday, to launch two spot cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tied directly to bitcoin and solana.

Wall Street Heavyweight Morgan Stanley Files for Bitcoin and Solana ETFs

Despite high trading volumes, PumpSwap's fee generation remains modest, with $2.98 million in fees recorded on Monday.

Solana memecoin frenzy sends PumpSwap trading volume to record $1.2 billion

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) filed to launch Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) ETFs on Tuesday, marking the first crypto ETF push by a major U.S. bank. Meanwhile, spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in net inflows of $1.16 billion in two days.

Morgan Stanley Files For Bitcoin, Solana ETFs As Institutions Buy $1.16B In 2 Days

Morgan Stanley has filed S-1 registration statements for spot Bitcoin and Solana ETFs as U.S. spot ETF trading volumes surpass $2 trillion.

Morgan Stanley files with SEC for spot Bitcoin and Solana ETFs

Ethereum saw a surge in institutional adoption and progress on scaling in 2025, while Solana was stress-testing the network and hardening its infrastructure.

Ethereum and Solana set the stage for 2026's DeFi reboot

Avalanche

Skybridge Capital CEO Anthony Scaramucci named Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), Avalanche (CRYPTO: AVAX) and Toncoin (CRYPTO: TON) as his top three altcoins to watch this year. Why Scaramucci Believes In These Tokens In an Altcoin Daily interview aired on Thursday, Scaramucci picked the three Layer-1 tokens despite their disappointing performance throughout 2025.

News for Solana Crypto (SOL)