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

Pump.fun has recently been responsible for more than 70% of all token launches on the Solana network.

Pump.fun Dominates Solana Network, Responsible for 70% of Token Launches and 56% of Transactions

Solana's latest proposal introduces a new hashing system that could eliminate computational bottlenecks while maintaining security.

Solana Proposal Promises to Bring Support to Billions of Users

The meme coin launchpad is responsible for more than 70% of token launches on Solana over the weekend.

Pump.fun Responsible for 70% of Token Launches on Solana Network

Bitcoin

Ethereum

Global digital asset investment products hit a record $44.2 billion in inflows in 2024, nearly quadrupling the previous high of $10.5 billion set in 2021, according to a CoinShares report on Monday. The surge was largely fueled by the introduction of U.S. spot-based ETFs, which accounted for 100% of these inflows.

Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana Institutional Investment Inflows Hit Record $44.2B In 2024, Nearly Quadrupling Previous High

Centralized exchanges see highest net-inflow of SOL tokens since March, according to Coinglass

SOL Worth $227M Moved to Centralized Exchanges, Clouds Bullish Technical Outlook

Solana was one of the networks that experienced explosive growth in 2024, both in technical and economic aspects. In December, Solana registered $304 million in inflows from other blockchains, only bested by Base and Hyperliquid.

Solana Achieved Its Best Year Ever, and the Numbers Back It Up

A closely followed crypto analyst says that smart contract platform Solana (SOL) is potentially forming a bullish technical pattern that could see it surge by over 1,700%.

$4,000 Solana? Trader Ali Martinez Says SOL Forming Potentially Massive Cup and Handle Set Up

The price of Solana (SOL) has fallen below the moving average lines, although selling pressure has eased above the $180 support. Since Dec. 20, Solana has held above the $180 support but below resistance at the 21-day SMA.

Solana Continues Its Upward Trend Above The $200 Mark

Developers have implemented a cryptographic technique to protect Solana's network from future quantum threats. Here's what you need to know.

Solana Is Now 'Quantum Resistant'—What Does That Mean?

A top crypto strategist thinks Solana (SOL) will continue to outperform Ethereum (ETH) this cycle as interest in the fifth-largest crypto project remains high. Pseudonymous analyst The Flow Horse tells his 253,400 followers on the social media platform X that Solana will likely outperform Bitcoin (SOL/BTC) this cycle the way ETH did in prior cycles.

Solana Primed To Continue Outperforming Ethereum, According to Crypto Analyst – Here's Why

Solana's price surged over 10% to exceed $200 following a $55 million SOL transfer by Pump.fun to the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange.

Solana Surges 10% to Over $200 After $55 Million Transfer, ETF Approval Speculation Grows

LAYER is an SPL-2020 token which will initially function as Solayer's governance token and will be used to accelerate growth.

Solana restaking protocol Solayer gains governance token and foundation

Dogecoin

Bitcoin is rising in the new year, propelling Solana and XRP to major gains as Dogecoin climbs—and Fartcoin blasts off again.

Solana and XRP Surge as Dogecoin and Bitcoin Hit Weekly Highs

Render (RENDER) joined Solana (SOL) as a top performer, gaining 7.8%.

CoinDesk 20 Performance Update: SOL Gains 7.5%, Leading Index Higher

Bitcoin experienced a notable rebound after falling to its lowest price in over a month, hitting $91,816 on Monday, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Bitcoin, Dogecoin, XRP and Solana See Major Gains After Bitcoin Hits Monthly Low, AI16z Soars 38%

A popular crypto analyst is still bullish on a memecoin that's already ripped by more than 4,000% in two months. The pseudonymous trader known as Altcoin Sherpa tells his 236,500 followers on the social media platform X that he's still accumulating the Solana (SOL)-based memecoin Fartcoin (FARTCOIN). “I'm filling a bit around $0.

Analyst Says He's Bullish on Memecoin That's Exploded Over 4,000% in Two Months – But There's a Catch

In 2022, the Terra blockchain and UST stablecoin imploded, leaving a trail of devastation that only worsened when FTX collapsed later that year. The crypto asset solana (SOL) took a hard hit, plunging to alarming lows. By January 2023, SOL was scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of price.

From the Brink to Record Highs: A Look at Solana's Unstoppable 2-Year Climb

Slinky, a blockchain project that uses ZK compression, has launched an airdrop to distribute 10% of its total supply to 27.7 million wallets on Solana. The project utilizes ZK-compressed token accounts, a storage mechanism that allows launching a massive airdrop and keeps costs low.

Slinky Launches Airdrop to 27.7 Million Wallets on Solana

Solana, a layer-1 decentralized network, made significant strides user activity and more in 2024. And that's meant good things for its native token SOL.

The Year in Solana: A Comeback Story

A co-founder of Ethereum (ETH) rival Solana (SOL) is reportedly facing a lawsuit for allegedly misappropriating the income earned from his former wife's crypto holdings.

Solana Co-Founder Sued for Allegedly Stealing ‘Millions of Dollars' Worth of Crypto Staking Rewards: Report

A closely followed crypto analyst is predicting where the price of Bitcoin (BTC) and Solana (SOL) will peak during the current market cycle.

Here's Where Bitcoin and Solana Will Peak in Current Market Cycle, According to InvestAnswers

The price of Solana (SOL) fell to the expected support of $177 on Dec. 22. The bulls bought the dips and continued their upward correction.

Solana Fluctuates In A Range And Retests The Low At $180

You can't yet trade Solana futures on a CFTC-regulated exchange, but Volatility Shares is filing for a futures ETF anyway.

Volatility Shares files for Solana futures ETF, despite lack of Sol futures products

Analytics firm Glassnode says Solana's (SOL) momentum on the monthly time frame is waning in comparison to Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH).

Solana Witnessing ‘Diminishing Momentum' Compared to Bitcoin and Ethereum, According to Glassnode – Here's Why

Stephen Akridge, a co-founder of blockchain platform Solana, faces a lawsuit from his ex-wife, Elisa Rossi, alleging he misappropriated millions in solana (SOL) token profits. Rossi claims Akridge exploited his advanced crypto knowledge to secretly collect her staking rewards.

News for Solana Crypto (SOL)