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

Alpenglow is coming next week, slashing Solana finality from 12.8 seconds to a target of about 150 milliseconds—some 85 times faster.

Morning Minute: Solana Is About To Get Faster

Cosmos

Ledger unveiled Atom, an Android-based security device with Solana Mobile integration, AI-agent controls, and hardware-tampering protections.

Ledger unveils Atom Android device with Solana Mobile integration and new tamper protections amid investigation into modified wallets

Bastion, owner of 9.99% of SkyAI, won't tender into SkyAI's $3 offer unless terms improve, seeking at least $3.50 and details of the firm's SOL sales.

SkyAI Investor Bastion Won't Back $3 Tender, Demands SOL Sale Details

Solana's Alpenglow upgrade replaces the TowerBFT voting system on October 21, cutting finality from 12.8 seconds to a target of 150ms and pulling vote transactions out of blocks entirely.

Solana Sets a Date for Its Next Major Upgrade

SkyAI's SOL treasury fell 70% in under a month, with 400,000 SOL unexplained. Bastion Trading won't tender at $3 a share and wants $3.50.

Major shareholder presses SkyAI on Solana sales after treasury shrinks 70% in a month

The switch will replace Solana's existing validator voting system, remove vote transactions from blocks and could sharply change headline transaction counts even if user activity stays flat.

Solana sets Oct. 21 for Alpenglow upgrade targeting 150-millisecond finality

Anza said Solana's Alpenglow consensus upgrade goes live on mainnet-beta around 14:50 UTC on Oct. 21, replacing TowerBFT and targeting 150ms finality.

Solana's Alpenglow Upgrade to Go Live on Mainnet Oct. 21, Anza Says

Bitcoin

Ethereum

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) continues to outperform altcoins like Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH), Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), XRP (CRYPTO: XRP), which have dropped between 2% and 5% over the past 24 hours. Only 11 of 66 large-cap altcoins finished last week higher, while Bitcoin dominance climbed toward 59.5%.

Bitcoin Back to $83,000 but Why Are Ethereum, Solana, XRP Weak?

SkyAI plans to buy back as much as 95% of its outstanding shares and warrants for $3 each, using cash and proceeds from selling solana. The move comes after the company sold roughly half its SOL treasury and rejected an unsolicited stock-for-stock bid from Forward Industries.

Solana Treasury Firm SkyAI Plans $201M Share Buyback After SOL Sale

Pando Finance has officially launched its second spot Solana (SOL) exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX), offering traditional and institutional investors streamlined access to Solana through conventional brokerage accounts.

Pando Finance Launches Second Solana Spot ETF on Hong Kong Stock Exchange

Nasdaq-listed SkyAI sold about 1M SOL and plans a $3-a-share cash tender for up to 95% of its SKYA stock, conditional in part on Solana holding above $100.

Solana Treasury Firm Sells Half Its SOL, Plans Up to $201M Buyback

The Nasdaq-listed company now holds about 2.59 million SOL, but its weekly purchases keep shrinking.

Solana Treasury Firm DeFi Development Keeps Buying SOL as CHAD Preferred Stock Hits Record

DFDV added 22,070 SOL last week, lifting holdings to 2.59 million SOL, as its CHAD preferred stock hit record highs despite a selloff.

DeFi Development grows SOL holdings 12% as CHAD hits record highs

Bitcoin ETFs have seen $386.3 million in net outflows through the first seven trading days of October, while Ethereum funds have now posted nine straight days of losses.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana ETFs All in the Red for October

Solana officially transitioned its mainnet architecture to blazing-fast 200-millisecond block times.

Solana Speeds to 200-Millisecond Block Times as High-Performance Networks Redefine Infrastructure Standards

Spot bitcoin, solana, and ether ETFs all logged weekly outflows following last week's trading, a notable shift for some of the funds.

Ether ETFs extend outflow streak to nine days as Solana funds snap record 14-week inflow run

The network is completing a seven-week push to produce blocks twice as frequently, though validators face higher costs and tighter operating windows.

Solana is about to halve its block times as final 200-millisecond upgrade nears

Securitize is launching 1:1-backed versions of major U.S. stocks on Solana, giving eligible investors access to equities including Apple, Nvidia, Tesla, and Microsoft through regulated onchain infrastructure. Securitize Adds Stock Tokens With Dividends and Voting Rights Securitize is taking some of Wall Street's most recognizable names onchain.

Securitize Brings Apple, Nvidia and Tesla Stocks Onchain on Solana

Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) briefly processed more trades than the NYSE in September, according to Citrini Research, as tokenized stocks and real-world assets push deeper into traditional finance. Why Citrini Says Crypto Finally Found Its Purpose Citrini Research wrote in a Thursday note that crypto spent 15 years building programmable financial infrastructure without a clear use case, until AI agents and tokenized assets gave it one.

Solana Tops NYSE Trade Count: Can Robinhood, Coinbase, Hyperliquid Keep Up?

Solana DEX Orca and lending platform Loopscale will operate as Formation, a New York company aiming to finance AI, energy, robotics and defense assets and eventually reach regulated U.S. markets.

Solana DeFi Firms Orca and Loopscale Merge Under New Formation Brand

One self-custodial platform to power Earn, Swaps, Predictions and Perps on Decrypt, as it builds out its financial and intelligence market.

Decrypt Money Accounts on Solana to Power The Information Exchange

The new Securitize Stocks product launches with 12 names backed one-to-one by real shares—preserving dividends and voting rights—trading first on Solana, with NYSE and OKX-ICE venues planned.

Securitize Brings Nvidia, Apple and Amazon Onchain With Tokenized Stocks on Solana

Tokenized shares in the mega-caps will first trade on Securitize's Solana-based platform, with further plans to expand them to NYSE and OKXICE digital venues, the firm said.

Securitize brings Apple, Nvidia and Tesla to Solana, with NYSE trading in the works

USDC

Users can send USDC across borders from late October, three months after Samsung teased stablecoin support without naming a blockchain.

Samsung Wallet Taps Solana for USDC Transfers on 82M US Galaxy Devices

The South Korean tech giant said the feature is built into Samsung Wallet, with fiat on- and off-ramps, rather than a separate crypto app.

News for Solana Crypto (SOL)