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

Fantom

A widely followed trader is leaning bullish on a mid-cap Real World Asset (RWA) token while offering his insight on three other altcoins.

Trader Predicts Record High for Real-World Asset (RWA) Token, Updates Outlook on Solana, Fantom and dogwifhat

Ethereum

USDT's anticipated integration into the Lightning Network has been a topic of discussion among crypto enthusiasts for years. Despite the evident advantages Lightning offers—such as instant, low-cost transactions—USDT's transition to this layer has been over and again stalled.

Speed Wallet Launches USDT on Lightning to Compete With Ethereum, TRON and SOLANA

Mawari Network, a Solana DePIN focused on spatial computing, has raised $10.8 million in strategic funding.

Solana DePIN Mawari Network raises $10.8 million in new funding

A new report projects that Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) could see its market value surge to $330, capturing 50% of Ethereum's (CRYPTO: ETH) market cap. What Happened: The report by MarketVector, a thematic index provider backed by VanEck, highlights Solana's superior performance metrics and suggests that the cryptocurrency is significantly undervalued compared to Ethereum, presenting a major investment opportunity.

Solana Could Reach $330, Capturing 50% of Ethereum's Market Cap, Says MarketVector Report

The co-founders of Hivemapper, Helium and Helio discuss projects on the Solana blockchain and bringing crypto to real life.

DePIN players Hivemapper, Helium, and Helio chart real-life crypto path on Solana

A Solana-based meme coin boosted by Moo Deng, a viral pygmy hippo native to Thailand, saw its market cap surge to over $80 million in less than two weeks.

Viral Sensation Moo Deng Solana Meme Coin Surges to $80M Market Cap

Shiba Inu

The cryptocurrency market is set to enter the last quarter of the financial year, and memecoins have already been the star performers. What happened: A plethora of tokens inspired by dogs and cats have netted massive returns to their holders year-to-date.

Solana Memecoins Popcat and Dogwifhat Are Soaring In 2024 — One Even Surged 12882% But Why Are Ethereum-Based Shiba Inu And Floki Lagging?

The internet's favorite baby pygmy hippo has gone viral and inspired meme coin that's already soared past a $70 million market cap.

Moo Deng Solana Meme Coin Blasts Past $70M Market Cap in Two Weeks

The price of Solana (SOL) is in an uptrend after rising above the moving average lines on September 19.

Solana Recovers But Fails To Break Above The $152 Barrier

Hedge fund veteran and former White House Press Secretary Anthony Scaramucci says that Ethereum's (ETH) biggest rival will play a major part in the “layer-1 blockchain financial revolution.

Skybridge Capital's Anthony Scaramucci Says Solana To Play Major Role in $7,000,000,000,000 Financial Revolution

Top US-based crypto exchange Coinbase says its wrapped version of Bitcoin (BTC) is coming to the smart contract platform Solana (SOL). In a session during the Solana Breakpoint 2024 event, Coinbase executive Hasan Ahmed says the crypto exchange is introducing Coinbase Wrapped Bitcoin (cbBTC) to the Ethereum (ETH) competitor's blockchain.

Coinbase New Wrapped Bitcoin (cbBTC) Coming to Solana, Says Crypto Exchange's Executive

"We recently launched cbBTC on Base, but our users love Solana, and so do we," said Hassan Ahmed, Coinbase's country director for Singapore.

Coinbase Wrapped Bitcoin Arrives on Solana as CLO Clarifies BTC Custody Terms

On September 21, Travala, a crypto-based travel booking platform, announced its integration with the Solana blockchain during the Solana Breakpoint conference in Singapore.

Travala Integrates Solana Blockchain for Crypto Payments

Dogecoin

Crypto analyst Ali Martinez says that the time for altcoins to outperform Bitcoin (BTC) is fast approaching, with Dogecoin (DOGE) perhaps set to benefit.

Trader Says Altseason Is Just Around the Corner, Updates Outlook on Dogecoin and Solana

Anthony Scaramucci, CEO of investment firm SkyBridge Capital and a vocal cryptocurrency advocate, predicted a significant role for Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) in the impending layer-1 blockchain revolution, while also revealing his substantial exposure to the fifth-largest cryptocurrency. What Happened: During the recent Breakpoint 2024 conference, Scaramucci highlighted the potential of tokenization to revolutionize the current financial system.

Anthony Scaramucci Discloses Holding 'A Lot Of' Solana, Backs The 'Ethereum Killer' Network To Lead Tokenization Revolution

With a lower price tag than the Saga and upgraded hardware, the Seeker smartphone aims to push Solana's mobile ambitions to new heights.

Solana Seeker Preview: Everything We Know About the Next Crypto Phone

Financial services titan Franklin Templeton says it's building a money fund for regulated securities on the smart contract platform Solana (SOL).

Investment Giant Franklin Templeton Building On-Chain Financial Services for Regulated Securities on Solana

Crypto travel booking platform Travala has integrated with Solana, allowing users to book flights and hotels using Solana-based tokens and earn SOL travel rewards. Highlighting Solana's scalability and affordability, the platform aims to enhance the crypto travel experience and incentivize users with up to 10% of booking value back in SOL.

Travala Integrates Solana for Booking Flights and Hotels, Offers SOL Travel Rewards

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) had quite the boost this week, with sales climbing by 7.33% compared to the previous one, totaling $77.13 million. The number of NFT sellers skyrocketed by 95.68%, while buyers surged 137.48%, giving the market a noticeable lift. NFT Gains: Digital Collectible Buyers Increase by 137% as Sales Hit $77.

NFT Sales Climb 7.33%, Mythos, Blast, and Solana Lead the Charge

The centralized digital asset exchange launched its version of wrapped bitcoin last week, after having teased the token in August.

Coinbase announces plan to bring cbBTC to Solana network

Travala has integrated with Solana, expanding cryptocurrency booking support beyond Ethereum and BNB Chain.

Travala expands booking support to Solana-based assets, offers SOL travel rewards

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

The Daily: BingX gets hacked, Frankendancer launches on Solana, Catizen's token goes live and more

Seasoned trader Peter Brandt is warning that Ethereum's (ETH) biggest competitor is at risk of a significant correction.

Top Ethereum Rival Could Plunge by Over 40% if Support Level Fails, According to Veteran Trader Peter Brandt

Meanwhile, the Firedancer validator client has now moved to Solana testnet.

Early Version of Long Awaited Firedancer Solana Validator Is on Mainnet

Firedancer, a blockchain validator client for Solana, is expected to enhance the network's efficiency and scalability.

News for Solana Crypto (SOL)