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 hacker just exploited the Solana (SOL)-based automated market maker (AMM) Raydium (RAY) for more than $4.3 million in crypto. Raydium first acknowledged the hack on Twitter on Friday morning. “An exploit on Raydium is being investigated that affected liquidity pools. Details to follow as more is known.

Hacker Exploits Solana-Based Project Raydium for Over $4,300,000 As the Protocol's Native Token Slumps

The attacker appears to have used the protocol's own private keys to drain liquidity pools. It's unclear how they got them.

Solana DeFi Exchange Raydium Hacked for Over $2 Million

Amid the market chaos within the crypto economy and following the climactic FTX collapse, the crypto asset solana has been one of the hardest hit during the last 30 days. Since FTX's fallout, the digital currency lost 8.5% over the last month against the U.S. dollar and to date, it's down 94.

Solana Struggles to Remain in the Top 20 as Prior Ties to FTX and Alameda Wounded the Project

Currently, about $2 million of different cryptocurrencies are sitting in the attacker's account.

Solana-Based Raydium Exchange Victim of 9-figure Exploit

Solana-based decentralized exchange Raydium suffered an exploit that appears to have taken more than $2 million. The post Solana-based exchange Raydium suffers $2 million exploit appeared first on The Block.

Solana-based exchange Raydium suffers $2 million exploit

In this episode of The Scoop, Solana co-founders Raj Gokal and Anatoly Yakovenko discuss how Solana initially became intertwined with FTX, and when they first started to notice that Sam Bankman-Fried's ambitions diverged from the crypto ethos. The post Why FTX's collapse is a ‘crucible moment' for Solana appeared first on The Block.

Why FTX's collapse is a ‘crucible moment' for Solana

Polygon

Magic Eden, Solana's biggest NFT platform, now supports Polygon NFT minting and trading.  The post Magic Eden bolsters gaming support by adding Polygon NFT minting and trading appeared first on The Block.

Magic Eden bolsters gaming support by adding Polygon NFT minting and trading

The move comes after several changes to bolster user engagement on the platform, such as a reinstated creator royalty system.  The post Magic Eden introduces discount and rewards system for marketplace users appeared first on The Block.

Magic Eden introduces discount and rewards system for marketplace users

The top Solana NFT marketplace is rolling out a rewards program with freebies and perks alongside an upcoming fee model shift.

Magic Eden Will Reward Loyal Traders With Discounts, Free NFTs

A popular crypto strategist says that Solana (SOL) has the potential to go on a massive rally and reach a new all-time high.

Can Solana (SOL) Bounce Back? Analyst Looks at Top Ethereum Rival After Bear Market Collapse

Cardano

Solana surged to a three-week high ahead of this afternoon's Federal Open Market Committee meeting (FOMC). The token rose for a second consecutive day, hitting a key price ceiling in the process. Cardano mainly consolidated on Wednesday, as prices fell from a recent high.

Biggest Movers: SOL Hits 3-Week High, as ADA Consolidates Ahead of FOMC Meeting

Avalanche

As the wider crypto market recovered some ground on Tuesday, the Avalanche and Solana tokens are among the day's top gainers.

Avalanche, Solana Jump as Crypto Market Claws Back $26 Billion Overnight

Charles Hoskinson thinks smart contract protocol Solana (SOL) could theoretically become a sidechain of the Cardano (ADA) network. During a new YouTube AMA session, Hoskinson lays out what sidechain partnerships look like on Cardano.

Charles Hoskinson Says Solana (SOL) Could Become Sidechain of Cardano (ADA) – Here's Why

A new DappRadar report finds that last month's crypto market meltdown caused the total value locked (TVL) on smart contract platform Solana (SOL) to freefall.

Solana Records Biggest Loss on One DeFi Metric As BNB Chain Shows Resilience: DappRadar

Dogecoin

Jim Cramer lambasted the cryptocurrency market, during his Thursday appearance on "Squawk Box," referring to it as a "ain't con." "The whole thing seems so bottomless that I don't know how to fathom it," he said.

Cramer Dubs Dogecoin And These 2 Cryptos 'Cons' As He Lambasts Crypto Again: 'Whole Thing Is Just Bottomless'

Metaplex accused Magic Eden of attempting to take over the NFT protocol as power players battle over royalties and decentralization.

Tensions Erupt Between Magic Eden and Metaplex Over Future of Solana NFTs

Solana devs look to rebuild as they unwind DeFi on the network from Sam Bankman-Fried's Serum, replace it with OpenBook, and plot a course for the future.

Life After FTX: How Solana DeFi Is Starting Over—Without SBF's Serum

Ethereum

Bitcoin (BTC) firebrand Michael Saylor says the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would be right to shut down essentially all altcoins which he says are being sold as unregistered securities.

Michael Saylor Says SEC Should Shut Down XRP, Ethereum, Solana and Other Altcoins for Being Unregistered Securities

Four under-the-radar altcoins are more than doubling their value within the past week despite the lingering uncertainty in the broader crypto markets. One of the best-performing coins in the last seven days is Krypton DAO (KRD). The native asset of the decentralized community Krypton DAO ascended from a weekly low of $0.

Four Low-Cap Altcoins Erupt 104% or More in Just One Week Amid Crypto Market Doldrums

Trading in November is about 88% lower than January as overall volume and total NFTs sold both slump even further.

Solana Soars, Flow Falls as NFT Market Declines Further in November

The Open Creator Protocol lets creators of new NFT collections block marketplaces that refuse to honor royalties on OCP-enabled assets.

Magic Eden Launches Solana NFT Tool to Enforce Creator Royalties

Users will now be able to make fiat purchases for tokens such as USDC and SOL via an onramp built inside Orca using Stripe's fiat-to-crypto system.

Solana-Based DEX Orca Partners With Stripe for Fiat Transactions

Crypto wallet Phantom is expanding its services to the Ethereum (ETH) and Polygon (MATIC) blockchains, bringing competition to other popular non-custodial wallets like MetaMask. Announcing via Twitter, Phantom says it was founded with the intention of eventually expanding into a multichain existence, starting with the Ethereum network.

MetaMask Meets New Competitor As Crypto Wallet Phantom Expands to Ethereum (ETH) and Polygon (MATIC)

Solana-focused crypto wallet Phantom is tapping Ethereum and Polygon for its expansion plan.

Solana's Top Crypto Wallet Looks to Ethereum, Polygon Next

The popular wallet for the Solana blockchain is expanding to include two rival proof-of-stake blockchains.

News for Solana Crypto (SOL)