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

Some surprise winners in Drift's road to decentralization include MetaDAO.

Solana DEX Drift to Airdrop 100M Tokens in Weeks

The Anza team, which emerged from Solana Labs earlier this year, has unveiled potential solutions to address the growing congestion issues on the Solana network.

Solana Release Brings Proposed Fixes to Network Congestion Issues

Bitcoin

Ethereum

The investment firm said Runes has the potential to help the broader Bitcoin ecosystem compete against Ethereum and Solana.

Runes Will Help Bitcoin DeFi ‘Close the Gap' on Ethereum, Solana: Franklin Templeto

After weeks of failed transactions, Solana might be turning a corner with the launch of a first update for mainnet validators.

Solana Update Brings First Fixes for Congestion Issues

Anthony Scaramucci, the founder of SkyBridge Capital, has voiced his skepticism towards meme coins, despite their recent high returns in the first quarter of 2024. What Happened: Scaramucci opined on meme coins and the broader digital asset market at a conference in London on Monday, DLNews reported.

Anthony Scaramucci's Fund 'Will Not Touch' Meme Coins But Vouches For Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana

Whales on the Solana (SOL) blockchain are gobbling up memecoin discounts following a marketwide correction over the weekend, according to on-chain data.

Solana Whales Scoop Up Millions of Dollars Worth of Memecoins As Crypto Markets Dip: Lookonchain

Closely followed trader and economist Alex Krüger is predicting Ethereum (ETH) will reach new all-time highs (ATHs), while also eyeing up other altcoins. Krüger tells his 171,400 followers on the social media platform X that he “fully expects” new ATHs for ETH based on several fundamental reasons. “I fully expect ETH to trade ATH.

Economist Alex Krüger Bullish on ‘Faster Horses' Like Worldcoin and Four Altcoins, Predicts Ethereum All-Time High

Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) launched a mainnet beta update, v1.17.31 to handle network congestion that occurred early last week amid soaring meme coin transactions. What Happened: The Solana Foundation has attributed the network congestion to the high demand for Solana block space and increased network activity.

Solana Rolls Out Mainnet Beta Update To Address Network Overload, SOL Up 2%

A widely followed crypto analyst says that Ethereum (ETH) competitor Solana's (SOL) nearly 45% devaluation from its 2024 high may end up being a “lifetime opportunity” for long-term bulls.

‘Lifetime Opportunity' for Solana? Crypto Analyst Predicts Steep SOL Rally Following Marketwide Dip – Here's His Target

Solana has led a rebound in the cryptocurrency market after major tokens dipped amid concerns over a wider conflict in the Middle East.

Solana leads crypto recovery despite global stock tumble over geopolitical concerns

Solana's v1.17.31 release is now recommended for general use by mainnet validators, with more updates to follow.

Solana patch aims to help alleviate ongoing network congestion issues

A meme coin trading frenzy and a rapid spike in users has stressed the network in recent months.

Solana Rolls Out Update to Tackle Network Congestion

Solana (SOL) experienced a decline in open interest (OI) since April 12, as over $85 million in long positions were liquidated amid a sharp market downturn.

Solana Faces Decline in Open Interest as Longs Liquidated Amid Price Downturn

Anza, a collective of developers focused on the Solana blockchain, has produced a fix that aims to reduce the congestion that the network has been experiencing. The new version of Solana, now being tried in testnet, includes a feature called stake-weighted quality of service (SWQOS), that prioritizes transactions from higher quality validators.

Solana Developers Test Congestion Fixes in Testnet, Introduce Measures to Prioritize Traffic

Dogecoin

Bitcoin BTC has fallen sharply after Israel's military said Iran had fired "dozens" of drones toward it in a retaliatory attack.

Israel-Iran War Fears Suddenly Spark $500 Billion Bitcoin And Crypto Price Crash—Hitting Ethereum, BNB, XRP, Solana And Dogecoin

Founded by pseudonymous devs with bear-themed names, Berachain is built on Cosmos SDK and aims to be the next big layer-1 chain.

What Is Berachain? The Latest Ethereum, Solana Challenger to Raise Big Money

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and other major cryptocurrencies are down significantly as traders' long positions are being liquidated.

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana Sink as Over $200 Million in Crypto Longs Liquidated

Solana developers have pushed a congestion fix to a devnet and are urging validators to "please upgrade ASAP" so it can be tested.

Solana Congestion Fix Nears as Devs Ask Validators to 'Upgrade ASAP'

A widely followed analyst and trader is expressing bullish sentiment on an Ethereum (ETH) competitor that has soared by triple digits in half a year.

Altcoin That's Exploded Over 700% in Six Months Gearing Up for the Next Leg Higher, Says Top Crypto Analyst

In the wake of its CEO's resignation, Marginfi, a decentralized lending protocol on Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), has seen a substantial withdrawal of funds, totaling over $214 million. What Happened: Edgar Pavlovsky, the founder and CEO of Marginfi, decided to step down due to internal disagreements and controversy.

Solana DeFi Protocol MarginFi Experiences $214 Million Withdrawal After CEO Edgar Pavlovsky Steps Down

MarginFi, a prominent DeFi platform on the Solana network, experienced internal turmoil.

MarginFi CEO Resigns as Solana Lending Platform Faces Internal Woes

Anza, Solana's development and client team, deployed a congestion fix (via version 1.18.11) to the devnet.

Anza releases proposed congestion fixes on Solana devnet, asks validators to upgrade on testnet

Chainlink

A widely followed crypto strategist believes the token of one layer-2 blockchain project is among the best market performers. Pseudonymous analyst Altcoin Sherpa tells his 214,100 followers on the social media platform X that Mantle Network (MNT), an Ethereum (ETH) scalability solution, could soar beyond all-time highs (ATHs).

Trader Says This Ethereum-Based Altcoin ‘One of the Strongest Coins,' Updates Outlook on Solana and Chainlink

Solend and Kamino were the biggest winners in the Solana DeFi landscape.

Chaos at MarginFi Shakes up Solana DeFi's Borrow-and-Lend Landscape

A crypto trader made millions of dollars in profit on a Solana (SOL)-based memecoin in a matter of weeks, according to the digital asset tracker Lookonchain. Lookonchain notes that the trader spent 3,100 SOL worth $530,000 to buy 12.08 million Jeo Boden (BODEN) two days after BODEN went online last month.

News for Solana Crypto (SOL)