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

Three Solana-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs) listed in the U.S. have quietly pulled in $78 million over the past month, reflecting rising interest in altcoin-backed investment products despite the outsized dominance of bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) in ETF markets.

Solana ETFs See $78M Inflows as Interest in Altcoin Investment Products Grows

Bitcoin

Ethereum

The crypto market remains rangebound as President Trump again revisits tariff negotiations with U.S. trading partners.

Why Are Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana Prices Still Rangebound? Experts Weigh In

A new note from crypto asset manager Bitwise points to Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), XRP (CRYPTO: XRP), and Chainlink (CRYPTO: LINK) as the "cleanest plays" in the emerging race to tokenize trillions of dollars in real-world assets (RWAs). What Happened: In a sharp departure from speculative crypto narratives, the firm suggests tokenization could represent crypto's most credible and scalable real-world application to date.

XRP, Ethereum, Solana And One Surprise Crypto (Not Bitcoin) Are Bitwise's 'Cleanest Plays'

Crypto exchange Bullish has struck a partnership with the Solana Foundation, aiming to make Solana-native stablecoins the backbone of its trading and clearing operations.

Crypto Exchange Bullish Teams Up With Solana for Institutional Stablecoin Push

Kraken and Backed are expanding xStocks support to BNB Chain, enabling users to trade tokenized U.S. equities as BEP-20 tokens.

Kraken and Backed to expand xStocks support to BNB Chain alongside Solana

Even modest adoption of tokenization could outsize any other crypto narrative — including bitcoin — Bitwise analysts said.

Bitwise calls ETH, SOL, XRP, LINK the ‘cleanest' plays as tokenization narrative builds

Bitcoin is holding firm near $108,700 even as traditional markets recoil from renewed trade tensions sparked by Donald Trump. The U.S. president signaled plans to hike tariffs on imports, potentially as high as 50%, citing ongoing friction with the European Union over tech regulations.

Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, XRP ETFs See Record AUM as Traders Warn of ‘Summer Lull'

The creator of Ethereum NFT collection Goblintown thinks there's a better way to launch meme coins—and it just did so with GOB on Solana.

Goblintown Heads to the Trenches With Solana Meme Coin Launch

Bonk

Launchpad wars heat up as TradiFi giants double down on Solana.

Solana News: Jupiter, Bonk and Pump.Fun Duke It Out in Launchpad Trenches

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

The Daily: Trump's Truth Social files for ‘Crypto Blue Chip' ETF, Dubai approves tokenized money market fund in RWA push, and more

Yorkville America Digital, LLC, in partnership with Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) – the company behind President Donald Trump's “free speech” social media platform Truth Social – has filed an S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch the Truth Social Crypto Blue Chip exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Truth Social Platform's Parent Company Proposes Blue Chip Crypto ETF

Trump Media and Technology Group is looking to launch another Truth Social-branded crypto ETF for Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and more.

Trump Media Files for 'Crypto Blue Chip' ETF Holding Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and XRP

BioSig Technologies (BSGM), a medical-technology company fresh off a merger with tokenization firm Streamex, said it signed definitive agreements for up to $1.1 billion in financing to fund a gold-backed treasury model and scale its tokenization platform for real-world assets (RWAs) like gold and other commodities.

BioSig, Streamex to Raise $1.1B for Gold Tokenization Initiative on Solana

Upexi's shares continue to trade below $4 a share after plummeting about 60% when investors filed to offload millions of shares.

Solana treasury firm Upexi's SOL holdings climb above 735,000 as it eyes tokenized equity

Trump Media & Technology Group (NASDAQ:DJT) is expanding its presence in the cryptocurrency investment space, having filed to launch a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) that would directly hold a basket of major digital assets. What Happened: The proposed fund, dubbed the "Crypto Blue Chip" ETF, aims to offer exposure to several high-profile tokens including Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), Ether (CRYPTO: ETH), Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), XRP (CRYPTO: XRP), and Cronos (CRYPTO: CRO).

Trump Media's New 'Crypto Blue Chip ETF' Filing Comes With A Twist

The "Truth Social Crypto Blue Chip ETF" will primarily consist of BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, and CRO.

Trump's Truth Social files with SEC to launch ‘Crypto Blue Chip' ETF tracking BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP and CRO

As the CIO of Fundstrat Capital, Tom Lee doubles down on Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH); however, Fred Krueger challenges this Ethereum-centric narrative, noting Solana's (CRYPTO: SOL) “rising dominance.” What Happened: A crypto enthusiast and investor at 2718.fund, a venture capital firm focused on the fintech and blockchain sectors, Krueger, highlighted Lee's views on Ethereum, stablecoins, and Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) treasury companies in an X thread and presented his arguments against them.

Tom Lee Loves Ethereum, But Is Solana Quietly Taking Over? This Expert Says SOL Will 'Outperform' ETH — Here's More

Pump.fun may be one of the most polarizing platforms in crypto, but its financials are hard to ignore. In a valuation breakdown, 10x Research concludes that the Solana (CRYPTO: SOL)-based memecoin launchpad's rumored $4 billion valuation, leaked via a now-deleted token sale page on Gate.io, still appears "relatively cheap" given its 2025 revenue performance.

Why You Should Keep An Eye On Solana Project Pump.fun's $4B Price Tag

Over the weekend, Bonk.fun overtook Pump.fun, the popular Solana token issuer, to become the leading launchpad in the market, claiming over 55% market share. This milestone is bumping up demand for BONK, the Solana-based token at the center of its ecosystem.

Bonk.fun Grabs 55% of Solana Token Issuance Share, Pushes BONK Demand

Dogecoin

Bitcoin (BTC) posted its highest-ever weekly close at nearly $110,000 on Sunday, defying a week marked by potential headwinds, including dormant whale wallets moving $8 billion in BTC, renewed tariff drama, and thin holiday liquidity.

Crypto Traders Shrug Off Dormant Bitcoin Whale Moves, With Profit-Taking on XRP, DOGE, SOL

Solana (SOL) declined 1.45% over the past 24 hours, falling from $151.41 to $149.21 between July 6 at 19:00 UTC and July 7 at 18:00 UTC, according to CoinDesk Research's technical analysis model. As for the broader crypto market as gauged by the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), it is down 0.56% during the past 24-hour period.

Solana Matches All Other Chains Combined in Monthly Active Users, Artemis Data Shows

The road to a spot Solana (SOL) exchange-traded fund (ETF) could be much shorter than expected.

SEC Sets July Deadline for Solana ETF Refilings, Clearing Path for Pre-October Approval

DOGE rallied Monday after billionaire fan Elon Musk made headlines with the launch of his pro-Bitcoin America Party.

Dogecoin, Solana, Ethereum Drive Crypto Markets Higher as Bitcoin Stays Flat

The price of Solana (SOL) is in solitary confinement after breaking the 21-day SMA barrier.

Solana Faces Bullish Exhaustion And Holds Above $145

A closely followed crypto analyst is revealing bullish targets for Bitcoin (BTC) while updating his outlook on a handful of prominent altcoins.

News for Solana Crypto (SOL)