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

Bitcoin

Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of the Solana project, has recently referred to the current state of bitcoin and its utility. On social media, Yakovenko stated that BTC had no value and could be considered insurance “in the best light.

Solana Co-Founder Anatoly Yakovenko: ‘Bitcoin Has No Value'

Derivatives marketplace CME Group has confirmed plans to launch Solana futures on March 17, pending regulatory approval.

CME Group To Launch Solana Futures Contracts on March 17, Expanding Crypto Derivatives Market

Cardano

Ethereum

Bitcoin and Ethereum experienced a sharp rise on Sunday after Donald Trump confirmed that both would be included in a planned U.S. crypto reserve.

Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and Cardano Prices Soar After Trump Confirms U.S. Crypto Reserve

President Donald Trump has announced the creation of a U.S. strategic crypto reserve, which will include Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), XRP, and Cardano (ADA).

Trump Announces U.S. Crypto Reserve With Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and Cardano

Tokens traded at a notable premium on Coinbase relative to Binance after Trump announced strategic crypto reserve.

XRP, SOL, ADA's Coinbase Premium Surges to One-Month High After Trump's Crypto Reserve News

Bitcoin and the crypto market at large are surging as President Trump announces that the US will establish a “crypto strategic reserve.” On Truth Social, Trump says the reserve will include Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), XRP (XRP), Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA).

Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana and Cardano Surge As President Trump Announces US Will Establish ‘Crypto Strategic Reserve'

Trump announces strategic crypto reserve including bitcoin, Solana, XRP and more

Following an extended spell of silence regarding a strategic bitcoin reserve from the Trump administration, President Donald Trump erupted onto the digital stage of social media with an interesting proclamation.

Trump's Bombshell: XRP, SOL, and ADA Enter the US Crypto Reserve Mix

Ripple's XRP and ethereum rivals solana and cardano—all regarded as U.S.

Trump Reveals U.S. ‘Crypto Reserve' Price Bombshell—Sending XRP, Solana, Cardano And Bitcoin Soaring

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that his recent executive order on digital assets directed his team to create "a Crypto Strategic Reserve that includes XRP, SOL, and ADA."

Trump says cryptocurrency 'strategic reserve' includes XRP, SOL and ADA

President Trump said Sunday that the U.S. will create a strategic crypto reserve that includes Cardano, Solana, and XRP. Where's Bitcoin?

Trump Says Crypto Reserve Will Hold XRP, Solana and Cardano—But Doesn't Mention Bitcoin

The announcement notably excludes Bitcoin, which the federal government already holds $17 billion worth.

Trump directs working group to ‘move forward' on SOL, XRP, and ADA Crypto Strategic Reserve

The reserve will include Ripple (XRP), Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA) tokens, according to a statement from the president.

Trump to Establish U.S. Crypto Reserve

Crypto investor Arthur Cheong says he will be holding on to his Solana (SOL) tokens in anticipation of its price being much higher in the coming months.

Investor Arthur Cheong Predicts Solana (SOL) Will Soon Be ‘Substantially Higher' – Here's His Timeline

The popular Ethereum (ETH)-focused crypto wallet MetaMask plans to introduce native Bitcoin (BTC) and Solana (SOL) support in the coming months. MetaMask announced this week that Solana would be added in May, which represents the wallet's first native non-Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) support. The project plans to add Bitcoin compatibility sometime in Q3.

Crypto Wallet MetaMask Introducing Native Bitcoin (BTC) and Solana (SOL) Support This Year

The financial services titan CME Group says it's launching new futures contracts based on the smart contract platform Solana (SOL) in March.

Derivatives Giant CME Group To Roll Out New Solana (SOL) Futures Contracts This Month

Pepe

Cryptocurrency analyst and trader Ali Martinez is warning that a top memecoin could plunge significantly amid the market downturn.

Crypto Trader Says Top Dogecoin and Shiba Inu Rival Could Crash 70%, Updates Outlook on Bitcoin and Solana

CME Group, the world's largest derivatives exchange, will introduce cash-settled solana (SOL) futures on March 17, 2025, pending regulatory approval, offering micro (25 SOL) and standard (500 SOL) contracts to cater to retail and institutional traders.

CME Group Reveals Solana Futures Launch for March 2025, Targeting Institutional and Retail Traders

MetaMask's expansion from Ethereum will include not just Bitcoin, as Decrypt previously reported, but also Solana. Here's when.

Ethereum Wallet MetaMask Is Adding Support for Solana Alongside Bitcoin

Solana was trading higher even as most digital assets sank further into negative territory on Friday.

Solana Price Rebounds as CME Group Debuts Futures to Meet 'Increasing Client Demand'

CME Group said on Friday that it plans to roll out futures contracts on cryptocurrency Solana on March 17, pending regulatory review.

CME Group plans to launch Solana futures on March 17

With Solana futures set to launch on CME next month, the path for a spot SOL ETF approval could become clearer.

CME Group to launch Solana futures on March 17 as ETF momentum builds

MetaMask announced plans to incorporate support for Bitcoin and Solana within the year as part of its ongoing product developments.

MetaMask To Support Bitcoin and Solana, Alongside Major UI Overhaul

CME Group expands its crypto offerings with Solana futures, set to debut in March.

CME Group to Launch Solana Futures as Demand for Crypto Derivatives Grows

Have we seen the last of the meme coin casino? Decrypt spoke to traders, founders, and analysts to find out.

News for Solana Crypto (SOL)