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

Crypto-based spot ETFs have gained traction in recent months amid a shift in regulators' attitudes toward digital assets in the U.S.

Grayscale Files to Convert Solana Trust into ETF on NYSE Arca

Currently a closed-end fund opened by Grayscale in 2021, the Solana Trust has $134 million in assets under management.

Grayscale Files to Convert Solana Trust Into ETF

The New York Stock Exchange's exchange-traded product platform filed a form on behalf of Grayscale Investments, LLC for a spot Solana ETF.

NYSE Arca files to list and trade Grayscale's spot Solana ETF

A new animal-based memecoin is surging to start the week, as Coinbase adds the crypto asset to its listing roadmap. Moo Deng (MOODENG), a crypto asset honoring the baby hippo who became an international sensation, soared 108% as the top US crypto exchange made the announcement.

Solana Memecoin Soars 108% As Coinbase Adds Crypto Asset To Roadmap

Cardano

Dogecoin

Hedera

The chief investment officer of Morgan Creek Capital is revealing his top five altcoins picks heading into the new year. In a new interview on the Altcoin Daily YouTube channel, Mark Yusko names his top token picks, including prominent smart contract platforms Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA).

Morgan Creek's Mark Yusko Unveils His Top Five Altcoin Picks Heading Into 2025 Including Cardano and Solana

Non-fungible token (NFT) sales experienced a 62.88% increase in November, reaching $588 million compared to $361 million in October. Ethereum-based NFTs dominated the market, generating $218.83 million—a rise from the $120 million recorded the previous month.

From Cryptopunks to Solana Boogles: November NFT Sales Rebound With $588M in Trades

Popular crypto analyst Altcoin Sherpa says that one red-hot artificial intelligence (AI)-related memecoin continues to show market strength after a massive surge. The pseudonymous trader tells his 233,000 followers on the social media platform X that Act I: The AI Prophecy (ACT) is looking strong on the four-hour chart.

Analyst Says AI Altcoin That's Up 4,000%+ in a Month Moving Extremely Well, Outlines Path Forward for Solana

Pepe

Two popular altcoins are surging in price after receiving surprise listings from US-based crypto exchange platform Bitstamp. In a new blog post, the crypto exchange says that its US branch is adding support for smart contract platform Solana (SOL) and Pepe (PEPE), a frog-themed meme asset built on top altcoin Ethereum (ETH).

PEPE and Solana (SOL) on the Rise Following Listings on US-Based Crypto Exchange Bitstamp

The price of Solana (SOL) is falling after reaching a historic high of $260 on November 22. Today, the altcoin has fallen above the 21-day SMA.

Solana Reaches The Historic Price Level Of $260 Again

Ethereum

Crypto market sentiment has shifted to altcoins, highlighted by a 13% jump in the ETH/BTC ratio, analysts said.

Analysts claim crypto capital rotation is driving Ethereum, Cardano and Solana gains

Bitcoin

A closely followed crypto analyst says that one Solana (SOL) rival is exhibiting market strength despite Bitcoin's (BTC) pullback to the lower $90,000 range. Pseudonymous analyst Pentoshi tells his 822,400 followers on the social media platform X that the native token of the layer-1 blockchain Sei (SEI) is primed for another leg up.

This Solana Rival Is Looking Great Amid Bitcoin Pullback, Says Top Crypto Analyst

The freshly minted Solana meme coin is trading over $0.62 and its market cap rose from $461 million to $621 million in just two days.

CHILLGUY Goes Boost Guy as Solana Meme Coin Hits All-Time High

The cryptocurrency market has experienced a significant downturn, with major digital assets posting notable losses.

Dogecoin and Solana Lead Double-Digit Losses as Crypto Market Faces Sharp Downturn

Crypto users are wary that Pump.Fun is “dumping on them” after the token launchpad sent another 100,000 Solana to an exchange.

Solana's Pump.Fun Moves Another $22M to Kraken—Founder Says It's Not All Being Sold

Pump.fun has accounted for over 60% of Solana DEX transactions for the past three months—is the network over reliant?

Pump.fun Accounted for 62% of Solana DEX Transactions in November, So Far

Too much leverage has led to an inevitable pause in the crypto market, but this is largely seen as a healthy correction, analysts argued.

Dogecoin, Solana Post Double-Digit Losses as Crypto Market Momentum Stalls

Popular meme coin creation platform Pump.fun disabled the livestream feature after it was used for an array of controversial streams.

Solana Meme Coin Launchpad Pump.Fun Drops Livestreaming Amid Backlash

Pump.fun, a decentralized platform for creating Solana (CRYPTO: SOL)-based meme coins, has come under intense scrutiny after reports of harmful and violent behavior surfaced on its livestream feature. What Happened: The platform, which has gained popularity in the crypto space, is now facing backlash from the community, with many calling for the livestream function to be disabled altogether until proper moderation tools are in place.

Solana Meme Coin Platform Pump.Fun Faces Backlash Over Scandalous Livestreams, But Polymarket Traders Aren't Convinced They'll Go Dark

Solana Meme Coin Platform Pump.Fun Faces Backlash Over Scandalous Livestreams, But Polymarket Traders Aren't Convinced It'll Go Dark

Over $116 billion worth of decentralized exchange (dex) trades have been placed on the Solana network in November. Record Volume for Solana DEXs As of Nov. 25, Solana's monthly trade volume on decentralized exchanges (dexs) surpassed $100 billion for the first time. The network's dex trade volume so far in November has reached $116.

New Record for Solana Decentralized Exchanges With Monthly Volume Surpassing $100 Billion

The Solana network reported over $109 billion in decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volume for November 2023, marking the first time it has surpassed the $100 billion threshold.

Solana Achieves Record DEX Volume Exceeding $100 Billion in November

The monthly fees from pump.fun and Raydium also recorded all-time highs in November as the memecoin frenzy continues.

Solana's monthly DEX volume surpasses $100 billion for the first time

Investor and crypto bull Dan Tapiero says that the rise of thousands of new memecoins in the digital asset space is laying the groundwork for traditional finance to adopt blockchain.

Investor Dan Tapiero Says Solana Memecoin Explosions ‘Practice' for Migration of $100 Trillion in TradFi Capital

"[T]he SEC is now engaging with issuers on this product, which is obviously a positive sign," says ETF Store President Nate Geraci.

Will there be a Solana ETF by the end of 2025?

A closely followed crypto analyst believes that the most popular memecoin by market cap is primed for another leg up. Pseudonymous analyst Altcoin Sherpa tells his 230,700 followers on the social media platform X that Dogecoin (DOGE) is printing a bullish pattern on the four-hour chart after bouncing off of the $0.36 level.

News for Solana Crypto (SOL)