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
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The new Lend v2 product turns deposits and borrowed assets into trading liquidity, tying higher returns to whether Jupiter's router can send enough swap flow to the new vaults.

Solana lending giant Jupiter now lets the same dollar earn twice

Ethereum

Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) and XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) may dominate the large-cap altcoin conversation, but there are dramatically different risk-reward profiles across the three. Why Is Ethereum Boring But Still A ‘Hold'?

Rating Ethereum, Solana, XRP: Prominent Trader Says One's a 'Hold' and One's a 'Beta Bet'

The Solana vault splits income from Strategy's preferred stock into a lower-risk senior token and a higher-risk junior token.

Solana gets its first Strategy STRC product through Solstice Finance

Leading cryptocurrency analyst Ali Martinez set a $100 price target for Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) on Sunday, contingent on the asset overcoming critical resistance levels ahead. The Path to $100 In an X post, Martinez analyzed Solana trading in a parallel channel on the daily chart, identifying mid-channel resistance at $78 as a key level.

Solana on Course For $100? Popular Crypto Analyst Sees a 'Breakout' For the Former Ethereum Killer

Avalanche

Ethereum, Solana, and Avalanche usage is rising as fees fall. So why are ETH, SOL, and AVAX still down, and which metrics matter?

Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche Are Booming, so Why Are Prices Down 50%?

Grayscale added BNB to its Smart Contract Fund during its second-quarter review, giving the token a larger weighting than ether and solana. The asset manager also reduced exposure to Uniswap and NEAR across two other diversified crypto products.

Grayscale Gives BNB 30.6% in Smart Contract Fund, Tops Ether and Solana

XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) and Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) remain in a sideways pattern, yet three altcoins are each testing breakout levels with distinct catalysts behind them. ADA: Symmetrical Triangle Breakout With A 40% Measured Move Target Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA) reached $0.195 for the first time since July 4, with its market cap up 24% over the past week, according to Santiment on X.

Forget XRP, Solana: These 3 Altcoins Are Flashing Breakout Signals

Validators are considering changes that would increase the amount of SOL permanently removed from circulation while reducing the rate of new token issuance.

Solana Proposal Would Increase Daily SOL Burns More Than 10-Fold

SGP-0003 bundles a fee overhaul with a doubling of the disinflation rate. It needs 40 million more SOL of validator support in two weeks to reach a vote.

A new Solana proposal would take daily SOL burns from $47,000 to $650,000

BlackRock launched a tokenized money market fund for stablecoin reserves that uses Solana alongside Ethereum.

BlackRock Launches Tokenized Money Market Funds on Solana, Ethereum

Michael Coates, the foundation's new CISO, said that AI vulnerabilities and fake identities will drive the next wave of blockchain security concerns.

Solana Foundation's new CISO warns AI is making crypto scams more convincing

While Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) consolidate, three altcoins are breaking out with 20%+ upside targets backed by momentum and volume. BNB: DEX Dominance And A Channel Breakout Pointing To $675 BNB Chain (CRYPTO: BNB) climbed to the top of the DEX leaderboard with $19 billion in weekly trading volume driven mainly by PancakeSwap (CRYPTO: CAKE), surpassing Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), according to on-chain data.

Forget XRP, Bitcoin: These 3 Coins Are Signaling 20%+ Upside Right Now

As the clock ticks on Congress, the Solana Policy Institute is mounting an urgent push for Senate leaders to take up crypto legislation.

‘The moment to act is now': Solana Policy Institute urges Senate to move on crypto bill as time dwindles

Bitcoin

Prominent crypto influencer Ansem is more optimistic about digital assets than at any point in his career as he argues that improving infrastructure, mobile adoption and on-chain innovation are laying the foundation for the next cycle. “Never Been This Bullish On Crypto“ Speaking with crypto commentator Thread Guy in an interview on July 28, Ansem said speculation remains crypto's biggest strength, while predicting traders will increasingly become the next generation of financial influencers.

'I've Never Been This Bullish,' Says Top Crypto Influencer: Bitcoin, Solana, Memes Remain His Strongest Bets

Perps are a trojan horse to bring all of traditional finance onchain, argues Brian Smith, president of the Jito Foundation.

SpaceX is a battleground Solana must win

Leading cryptocurrency analyst Ali Martinez on Tuesday identified $73.75 as the “most critical” level for Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), where millions worth of SOL were accumulated.

Solana's 'Make-or-Break' Level Flagged by Popular Analyst: Close Below Critical Support Could Trigger 'Fresh Selling Pressure' for SOL

Robinhood Markets Inc. (NASDAQ:HOOD) has quickly turned its newly launched Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) Layer-two network into the leading blockchain by number of real-world asset holders. RWAs Higher Than Any Network According to 21Shares investment strategist Max Michielsen, Robinhood Chain now has roughly 328,000 holders of tokenized RWAs, more than any other blockchain network.

Robinhood Chain Overtakes Solana, Ethereum for Real-World Asset Trading: What Does It Mean for HOOD?

The Wall Street giant has launched spot Ethereum and Solana exchange-traded products, expanding its digital asset strategy.

Morgan Stanley Expands Crypto Push With Ethereum and Solana ETPs

Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) is back above $1,900 after Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) announced the launch of the cheapest ETH and Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) ETFs on the market. What Launched And Why The Pricing Stands Out The Morgan Stanley Ethereum Trust (NYSE:MSSE) and Morgan Stanley Solana Trust (NYSE:MSOL) began trading on NYSE Arca Tuesday at a 0.14% expense ratio, undercutting every existing competitor in both categories, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.

Ethereum, Solana Cheer Morgan Stanley ETF Launch, Bounce 2% Intraday

Morgan Stanley has launched exchange-traded products tracking ether and solana, expanding a digital asset lineup that began with bitcoin. Their 0.14% fees and staking plans raise the competitive pressure on established crypto fund managers. Morgan Stanley Combines 0.

Morgan Stanley Launches Ether and Solana ETPs With Staking and Market-low Fees

The firm launching its ETH- and SOL-based funds comes roughly two and half years after the first spot bitcoin ETFs started trading.

Morgan Stanley debuts Ethereum and Solana ETFs with market's lowest fee, staking rewards

The asset manager is offering low-cost ETH and SOL exchange-traded products after its bitcoin fund topped $381 million in assets.

Morgan Stanley debuts ether, solana exchange-traded products after bitcoin fund success

Microsoft says its new cyber model lets more than 100 AI agents find software flaws at half the cost of its current best MDASH configuration.

Microsoft Says MDASH Beats Claude Mythos and GPT-5.6 Sol in Cybersecurity Test

Although activity rose, revenues declined and ETH, SOL and AVAX are all down over 50% when compared to a year ago.

Ethereum, Solana and Avalanche get busier and cheaper even as token prices fall: Bitwise

Solana prices fell on Friday, July 24, pushing lower as the broader crypto markets suffered declines amid a souring in risk sentiment.

News for Solana Crypto (SOL)