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

A Solana (SOL)-based decentralized exchange (DEX) altcoin surged by more than 5x on Friday after South Korea's largest crypto exchange rolled out trading support for the asset. Traders on the Seoul-based Upbit can now purchase and unload DRIFT, the native asset for the Drift Protocol, an open-source DEX that enables transparent and non-custodial trading.

Solana Decentralized Exchange Altcoin Skyrockets by More Than 400% on Friday After New Exchange Listing

Trading tools on Solana are immensely profitable. In fact, they tend to rival or exceed DeFi blue chips like Maker, Aave or Lido.

The Unique Way the Solana Trading Ecosystem Is Making Bank

A widely followed analyst and trader is leaning bullish on a large-cap altcoin amid a broader crypto market rally. The analyst pseudonymously known as Pentoshi tells his 809,700 followers on the social media platform X that Solana (SOL) is in the “all-time high waiting room.

Ethereum Rival Solana in All-Time High ‘Waiting Room,' Says Crypto Analyst – Here's His Outlook

Coinbase analysts are optimistic about the cryptocurrency market heading into 2025, citing a supportive macro environment in the U.S.

Trump's election and surging Solana memecoin activity set positive tone for crypto markets, say Coinbase analysts

Cobie, who previously hosted a podcast of the same name, said the UPONLY tokens were theoretically worth $17 million when he burned them.

‘See you in hell': crypto trader Cobie burns gifted 60% supply of Pump.fun Solana memecoin ‘UPONLY'

Cardano

While bitcoin catches its breath after its recent ascent past record highs, other digital assets are enjoying a Friday boost. Altcoins Surge Ahead as Bitcoin Takes a Breather: SOL, CRO, and Meme Coins Lead the Pack As of Nov. 8, the crypto market is coasting 2.09% higher than yesterday, totaling $2.57 trillion.

SOL, ADA, and CRO Rally as Altcoin Momentum Picks Up—Is This the Start of Altcoin Season?

Ether

Yields on U.S. sovereign debt declined Thursday after the Federal Reserve eased monetary policy by slashing interest rates by 0.25 percentage points. What happened: The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield dropped by 0.8 basis points to 4.335%, while the yield on 2-year government bonds slid 2 basis points to 4.197%.

Solana Staking Yields Double Ethereum's As Both Battle Treasury Rates

Bitcoin

The ongoing rally of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) and Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) should not lead investors to believe that all cryptocurrencies will do equally well in a bull run, a new report found. What Happened: “Any coin or token that failed to rally at least 10% over the last week should likely be avoided,” the 10x Research analysts write in their latest report, urging investors to stay focused on selective assets that demonstrate resilience and growth potential.

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana Rally Does Not Mean All Cryptocurrencies Will Moon: 10x Research

Solana breaks $200 for the first time since April 1, thanks to Donald Trump securing U.S. Presidential election.

Solana Tops $200 for First Time Since April, Following Trump Reelection

Coinbase, the largest U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, announced the launch of cbbtc, its in-house developed wrapped bitcoin token, on top of the Solana network. Highlighting the significance of this move, Coinbase stated: “This is the first token Coinbase has issued on Solana, and with it, we're excited to bring easy access to BTC.

Coinbase Launches Wrapped Bitcoin Token on Top of Solana

Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., has announced the release of its wrapped Bitcoin token, cbBTC, on the Solana blockchain.

Coinbase Unveils Wrapped Bitcoin cbBTC With Solana DeFi Integrations

Joe McCann is the outspoken founder of Asymmetric, a top-performing crypto venture capital fund backed by investors including Marc Andreessen, Chris Dixon, and Circle.

Joe McCann Interview: Solana is the Actual Decentralized SuperComputer

Solana, which has seen strong on-chain activity over the past few months, climbed above the $200 mark to trade at $201 at one stage today.

Solana climbs above $200, bitcoin hits new high amid extended post-election rally

Solana is surging on increasing confidence that spot ETFs will be approved under a Trump administration, all while Bitcoin breaks records.

Solana Jumps to $200 as Bitcoin Price Sets Another All-Time High

Following its Ethereum-based debut, Coinbase said the token is now live on a speedy, layer-1 competitor.

Coinbase Brings its Wrapped Bitcoin to Solana

Coinbase introduced cbBTC, which brings bitcoin to the Solana blockchain. Bitcoin helps power trading, lending and borrowing on centralized crypto exchanges, but this crucial functionality requires extra effort in DeFi.

Coinbase Brings Bitcoin to Solana, Spurring High Hopes for DeFi Surge

Bitcoin just made a new all-time high, but ether is the real winner here.

Post-Election Déjà Vu: Bitcoin Spikes to a New Record High, While Ether and Solana Rally Ahead of FOMC

The price of Solana (SOL) has risen above the $164 barrier twice as the altcoin attempts to break out of its sideways trend.

Solana Faces A Critical Challenge On The Road To The $210 Peak

Solana "has an opportunity to move alongside BTC and ETH, cementing itself as a major if it gains ETF approval," an analyst told Decrypt.

Solana Surges as Donald Trump Reelection Sparks ETF Optimism

Transfer volume on the Solana blockchain exploded recently and surged to multiple times higher than the total SOL market cap, according to the crypto analytics firm Glassnode.

Solana (SOL) Transfer Volume Suddenly Spikes to $224,000,000,000 in Single Day: Glassnode

Bitcoin dominance approached 61% with Solana dominance also primed to touch record high.

Bitcoin, Solana Hit New Cycle Highs Against Ether as Trump Edges Closer to U.S. Presidency

An incoming crypto-friendly Trump administration could make allowing crypto ETFs in the U.S. easier, traders say, boosting SOL's prices.

Solana Jumps 17%, Flips BNB Chain Token, as Trump's Lead Renews ETF Hopes

Daily transaction fees on Solana have cooled significantly from record highs reached last month, providing bearish cues to the SOL token.

Long Bitcoin Short Solana Preferred Tactical Trade Heading Into U.S. Election: 10X Research

Onchain data shows that Solana had over 123 million active addresses on the network last month, reaching its highest level.

Solana saw its highest monthly active addresses, surpassing 120 million in October

An exploiter managed to steal a significant amount of tokens from crypto casino Metawin's Ethereum and Solana hot wallets by exploiting the protocol's “frictionless withdrawal system,” Metawin CEO Richard “Skel” Skelhorn announced early on Sunday.

News for Solana Crypto (SOL)