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

Solana's Alpenglow upgrade went live Wednesday with a 150-millisecond finality target, and SOL rose about 2% with Bitcoin as US Solana funds saw more outflows.

Solana Price Rises with Bitcoin as Alpenglow Goes Live

Avalanche

Bitcoin

Dogecoin

Ethereum

Hyperliquid

Chainlink

Zcash

Grayscale is opening a new route for eligible crypto investors to exchange their existing tokens directly for shares in 10 investment products, bypassing the need to sell for cash first.

Grayscale Opens In-Kind ETF Access With Six-Figure Entry Minimums

Grayscale announced Wednesday that eligible investors can directly contribute cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), XRP (CRYPTO: XRP), Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) and Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), in exchange for shares of select investment products. Grayscale Expands In-Kind Investing The asset manager is expanding in-kind subscriptions across 10 digital asset investment products, allowing eligible investors to exchange existing crypto holdings for fund shares without first converting their tokens into cash.

Grayscale Opens In-Kind Crypto Investing for Bitcoin, XRP, Dogecoin, Solana ETFs

Grayscale expands in-kind subscriptions to 10 crypto funds, letting eligible investors swap tokens for shares without selling for cash.

Grayscale expands in-kind subscriptions to 10 crypto ETFs and trusts

Solana activated its long-awaited Alpenglow network upgrade on Wednesday, Oct. 21, marking one of the most significant overhauls in the blockchain's history and promising to slash transaction finality times by roughly 99%.

Solana's Alpenglow Upgrade Goes Live, Promising 99% Faster Finality

Solana activated Alpenglow, replacing TowerBFT and cutting transaction finality from 12.8 seconds to about 150 milliseconds.

Anza's Alpenglow goes live on Solana, cutting finality to 150 milliseconds

The new consensus protocol retires TowerBFT, which had run Solana since its 2020 launch, after a handoff on the live network.

Solana Alpenglow Goes Live in 'Most Ambitious' Upgrade Since Ethereum's Merge

Alpenglow will replace the voting system Solana has used since 2020, targeting roughly 150-millisecond finality after months of testing that included a failed migration and rollback.

Solana's Alpenglow, its biggest network overhaul since 2020, goes live Wednesday

Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) and Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) both hit record staking levels in the third quarter, yet Bitwise's latest quarterly staking report details that yields on both networks fell. Why More Staked Capital Is Producing Smaller Returns Bitwise wrote in its Q3 2026 staking report that Ethereum closed the quarter with 43.80 million ETH staked, representing 35.9% of total supply.

Ethereum, Solana, HYPE Growth Isn't Lifting Staking Yields: Bitwise

A record 43.8 million ETH, nearly 36% of supply, was staked in Q3 as yields fell to 2.63%. Solana staking hit a record 440.5 million SOL.

Ethereum staking hits record as yields fall and Solana activity grows: Bitwise

kyAI (Nasdaq: SKYA) sold off its entire SOL treasury, dropping the SOL-price condition from its $201M tender offer, which now runs through Oct. 29.

SkyAI Sells All Its SOL, Drops Price Condition From $201M Offer

On Monday, Melville, New York-based SkyAI, a publicly traded U.S. fintech and digital asset treasury firm, announced its complete exit from solana (SOL) and unveiled an ambitious share buyback initiative that could return as much as $201.3 million to investors. This announcement, and others before it, have bolstered SkyAI shares a great deal.

Another Crypto Treasury Waves the White Flag as SkyAI Liquidates Its SOL

SkyAI holds $223.8 million in cash after selling all its SOL, with its $3 buyback running through Oct. 29.

SkyAI sells off entire Solana treasury as it launches $201 million buyback

Tron

Arbitrum

Polygon

Tron pulled in $23.41 million in revenue over the past 30 days, more than Ethereum, Solana, Base and six other networks earned together. The Scoreboard Onchain analytics account Lookonchain flagged the ranking earlier today, noting that Tron currently sits at No. 1 among all chains on 24-hour, 7-day and 30-day revenue.

Tron Quietly Outearns Ethereum, Base, Solana and Six More Chains

Fidelity's FCAT found Solana (SOL) validator stake and hosting concentration still exceed the network's own risk limits, pricing an attack at $15 billion.

Solana Stake Concentration Still Tops Foundation's Own Limits, Fidelity Reports

Solana generated $193.1 million in application revenue over the past 30 days, nearly twice Hyperliquid's total, according to Castle Labs research. More importantly, the network's growth is spreading beyond meme coins, with real-world assets surging from $700 million to $4.37 billion in a year. Solana RWAs Surge to $4.

Solana Apps Generate $193M in 30 Days Amid Real-World Assets Surge

The Solana Foundation stated that the Accelerate event was canceled due to a surge in registrations, with people overwhelming the designated venue. Nonetheless, social media reports indicate the presence of law enforcement at the venue, with attendees remaining left outside for hours.

Solana Abruptly Postpones Shanghai Event as Registrations Quadruple

Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) is “wildly undervalued,” according to Real Vision CEO Raoul Pal, even as he admits to also holding Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) and Sui (CRYPTO: SUI). Why Pal Calls Ethereum Undervalued Pal on Thursday told the When Shift Happens podcast that investors value networks the wrong way, focusing on cash flow when that's not what actually makes a network worth something.

Bitcoin, Ethereum or Solana? Raoul Pal Calls One 'Wildly Undervalued'

The establishment of a new Solana Foundation office in one of Shanghai's highest commercial buildings has drawn out criticism from industry leaders, who wonder how China, with its historic anti-crypto stance, allowed a top-ten cryptocurrency to set up shop in the country.

Solana Breaches China's Crypto Wall With New Shanghai Office

Earlier this week, the Solana-focused research and development firm Anza revealed that Solana's highly anticipated upgrade Alpenglow is scheduled to activate on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. According to developers and Solana documentation, Alpenglow is expected to make finality roughly 99% faster.

Solana's Alpenglow Upgrade Arrives Oct. 21 With a Major Speed Boost

Ledger's Atom device will preinstall Solana Mobile's SKR-powered Seeker app and dApp store, the companies announced Thursday at Ledger Op3n 2026 in Paris.

Solana Mobile Taps Ledger as First Hardware Partner for Seeker

Bastion Trading, which owns about 9.99% of SkyAI, is opposing the company's planned $3-per-share tender offer and questioning the sale of roughly 70% of its solana treasury. The investor wants more disclosure, board changes, and a higher tender price of at least $3.50 before it will participate.

Bastion Opposes SkyAI Tender After 70% of Solana Treasury Sold

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) rebounded to $82,000 after dipping below $80,000 on Thursday, while several major altcoins flashed technical buy signals. Where Bitcoin's Liquidation Clusters Sit Glassnode posted on X that Bitcoin is sitting on support, but a large cluster of long liquidations sits just below current levels, with another cluster near $75,000.

Bitcoin Bounces Above $82,000 as XRP, Solana Flash Buy Signals

DeFi Development is raising the dividend rate on its CHAD preferred stock to 14% from 13% as it taps CHAD sales to grow its Solana treasury.

DeFi Development boosts CHAD dividend to 14% amid push to grow Solana holdings

Market analysts say that macro factors are pushing altcoin prices down, after ETH, XRP, and SOL all dropped on the day.

News for Solana Crypto (SOL)