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

Dogecoin

The pullback erased most of Wednesday's push toward $70,000 as hot producer-price data and a post-earnings Nvidia decline dragged risk assets lower heading into the weekend.

Bitcoin slides to $65,000 in weekend sell-off, with solana, XRP, dogecoin down 6%

Magic Eden is pulling support for Ethereum-compatible and Bitcoin-based assets, marking an end to its multi-chain approach to user adoption.

Magic Eden Pulls Plug on Bitcoin and Ethereum Support, Doubles Down on Solana

Ethereum

Ethereum (ETH), down 3.7% from Thursday, joined Solana (SOL) as an underperformer.

CoinDesk 20 performance update: Solana (SOL) falls 4.2%, leading index lower

Positioning in futures and options shows traders looking to protect against further declines.

Bitcoin falls with ether, solana while decred, AI-linked tokens advance

The goal is to reduce Solana's growing geographic concentration in Europe and introduce multicast functionality.

A former Solana exec is taking a page out of Wall Street playbook to make global crypto trades faster

Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) Executive Chair Michael Saylor shared his vision Wednesday for the future of “digital credit,” emphasizing its potential beyond Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) on networks like Solana (CRYPTO: SOL). Future Of ‘Digital Credit' In a keynote address at the Strategy World 2026 Conference, Saylor discussed the concept of “digital credit,” which involves issuing Bitcoin-collateralized, yield-bearing financial instruments, such as its Perpetual Stretch Preferred Stock (NASDAQ:STRC).

Michael Saylor Unveils 'Digital Credit' Vision, Signals Expansion Beyond Bitcoin To Solana

The rally marks one of the strongest single-day rebounds in weeks, snapping a steady slide that had pushed bitcoin down sharply from its October highs.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana rally as analysts flag pause in ‘10 a.m. dump' after Jane Street lawsuit

More than $400 million worth of short positions have been liquidated in the last day as Bitcoin nears $69K and Ethereum and Solana surge.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana Shorts Get Rekt as BTC Price Rebounds Near $69K

TBD, co-founded by former dYdX team members, has raised $3 million in a seed round co-led by CMT Digital and ParaFi.

Solana-based TBD, a prediction market protocol for ‘verified' human opinion, raises $3 million

Polkadot

Crypto markets climb 3% as traders position for Nvidia's earnings, which analysts say now overshadow the SOTU as the key catalyst.

Polkadot, Solana Lead Altcoin Surge Ahead of Nvidia Earnings Call

Bhutan has launched a blockchain-powered digital nomad visa that requires applicants to deposit gold-backed TER tokens on the Solana network, marking a rare fusion of residency policy and sovereign crypto adoption.

Bhutan Rolls out Blockchain-Powered Digital Nomad Visa Using Solana Gold Token

Solana (SOL) slid back down to its lowest levels since 2023 this week as market sentiment soured, but on-chain activity held up, led by tokenized real-world assets.

Solana News: SOL Sell-Off Deepens as Sentiment Sours, but RWA Activity Stays Strong

The Solana projects made the "difficult decision" to cease operations after January's treasury breach and subsequent failed rescue efforts.

Solana DeFi Project Step Finance to Wind Down Weeks After $29M Hack

Analysts warn that bitcoin's prolonged failure to break above its current range is tilting the technical outlook toward the bears.

ETH, SOL, XRP extend losses as AI scare trade unsettles risk markets

Solana Company unveiled plans for the “Pacific Backbone,” a high-speed infrastructure expansion across Asia-Pacific aimed at strengthening staking, validation, and institutional access within the Solana ecosystem.

Solana Company Maps Out ‘Pacific Backbone' Roadmap to Boost Asia-Pacific Infrastructure

The initiative targets institutional demand across Asia-Pacific, offering DeFi tools, liquid staking, and execution services designed for traditional finance firms entering the crypto space.

News for Solana Crypto (SOL)