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

New data from decentralized finance (DeFi) tracker DeFiLlama reveals that surging altcoin Solana (SOL) is now the top traded digital asset on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) behind Ethereum (ETH). Solana's trading DEX volume has soared by more than 25% in the past week for a total of $5.

Solana Surges Nearly 83% in a Week As SOL's Decentralized Exchange Volumes Now Rank Second After Ethereum's

Venture capitalist Chris Burniske says that one red-hot Ethereum (ETH) rival that has surged over 1,000% this year is primed to hit new all-time highs (ATHs).

Ethereum Competitor That's Exploded 1,000%+ This Year Eyeing New All-Time High, According to Venture Capitalist

A widely followed crypto analyst says that another rise of over 3x is in the cards for one red-hot altcoin that has already skyrocketed about 1,000% since the start of the year.

‘Absolutely Feasible' for Solana To Explode by Over 220% Going Forward, Says InvestAnswers

Bonk

Solana's (CRYPTO: SOL) meme coin BONK (CRYPTO: BONK) rose 9000% year-to-date, with a market capitalization of $1.17 billion becoming the third-largest dog-themed coin, behind Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) based Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB). Half of BONK Supply Airdropped to Solana Community It all started in 2022 December, when the Solana community was in for a treat as half of the BONK supply was airdropped to developers, artists, NFT collectors, and others in the space.

Is Santa Betting On BONK? How Solana's Memecoin Jingled All The Way To $1B Market Cap Club Containing Shiba Inu, Dogecoin

Saga phones are still selling for thousands on eBay as Solana breezes past $100, nearly a year after being under $10.

Solana sets records for monthly new and active addresses amid price rally

Bitcoin

Ethereum

In the last week, sales of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have fallen by 12.26%, totaling $463.87 million, marking a decrease from the previous week. NFTs centered around Bitcoin topped the chart, amassing $265.61 million in sales, despite a 13.71% decline from the preceding week.

NFT Sales Dip — Bitcoin Dominance and Solana's Rise Challenge Ethereum's NFT Authority

Seasoned trader Peter Brandt says he's no longer expecting the leading altcoin Ethereum (ETH) go on a big move to the downside. Last week, Brandt told his 707,300 followers on the social media platform X that he was shorting Ethereum, predicting that ETH could tumble to as low as $650.

Veteran Trader Peter Brandt Withdraws Bearish Outlook on Ethereum, Says Solana Can Continue Trending Higher

The price of Solana (SOL) reached the predicted level of $100 on December 22. The altcoin reached a high of $100, but encountered resistance at this level.

Solana Price Climbs Back To $100 After Recent Low

The native token for a decentralized exchange (DEX) built on Solana (SOL) has skyrocketed by more than 95% this week amid roaring network growth. Raydium (RAY) is an on-chain order book automated market maker (AMM). The project's native token, RAY, is trading at $1.72 at time of writing, up from around $0.88 one week ago.

Solana Decentralized Exchange Altcoin Skyrockets More Than 95% This Week Amid Roaring Network Growth

On Saturday, the smart contract platform Solana's token, solana (SOL), eclipsed the $100 threshold, achieving a weekly growth exceeding 36% against the U.S. dollar. Throughout the year, investor sentiment toward solana (SOL) has remained overwhelmingly positive, intensifying following the conviction of ex-FTX chief Sam Bankman-Fried on multiple charges on Nov. 2, 2023.

Solana Tops $100 After Monumental 764% Growth This Year

Memecoin traders and airdrop farmers are bringing more attention to Solana.

Solana (SOL) Rallies Past $100, Continuing Torrid Month

Continuing its recent ascent, Solana pushed past the $100 mark Saturday to set a 20-month high, surpassing recent Bitcoin and Ethereum gains.

Solana Smashes Past $100 for First Time Since April 2022

Stablecoin issuer Paxos is expanding into the Solana (SOL) network, becoming the first multi-chain platform to be regulated across multiple jurisdictions.

Paxos Becomes Multi-Chain Stablecoin Issuer, Expands to Solana (SOL) Blockchain

Shiba Inu

Meme coins are still popular—but new ones are constantly springing up.

This Week in Coins: Solana Surge, Bitcoin Boom, and Meme Coin Mania

Bitcoin BTC and crypto prices have soared this year, pushed higher by expectations of major changes in 2024.

‘Big News'—Forget The Spot Bitcoin ETF, A Huge Unexpected Bank Flip Could Be About To Hit The Price Of Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana And Crypto

The tokenization and stablecoin platform Paxos has revealed plans to broaden its stablecoin issuance to the Solana blockchain. The company, which oversees the pax dollar (USDP), anticipates that Solana-issued USDP will be publicly available starting Jan. 17, 2024.

Paxos Expands to Solana Following NYDFS Nod, Widening Stablecoin's Horizon

Polygon

Deep-pocketed crypto traders are abruptly shifting hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and other digital assets to and from prominent crypto exchange platforms.

Whales Move Over $675,000,000 in Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana and Polygon – Here's Where the Crypto's Headed

Solana (CRYPTO: SOL)'s decentralized exchange (DEX) volume has been on fire lately, fueled by a potent cocktail of meme coin mania and a thriving DeFi ecosystem. Solana DEX volume currently sits at a staggering $1.5 billion in the last 24 hours, compared to Ethereum's (CRYPTO: ETH) $1.2 billion, according to data from DeFiLlama.

Ethereum Dethroned: Solana Memes Like Bonk, Samoyed Coin, Dogwifhat Unleash $1.5B DEX Frenzy

Stablecoins issuer Paxos has been granted regulatory clearance to broaden its offerings onto the Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) blockchain. Plans to initiate this expansion are set for Jan. 17, 2024.

Stablecoin Issuer Paxos Takes Solana Plunge, Scores Clearance To Broaden Offerings

Solana Labs apologized for overselling the Saga, which saw surging demand after customers realized the incentives outvalued the phone itself.

Solana Cancels Saga Orders After Selling Phones It Didn't Have

The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap is up today as developers prepare for the DenCun testnet rollout in January.

Ethereum Pops 4% as Solana Nips at Its Heels

Stablecoin issuer Paxos received approval from a New York regulator to expand its products out to the Solana blockchain.

Paxos receives approval from NY regulator to expand to Solana

Over the past 24 hours, Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) has rallied by a staggering 17%. This dramatic rise appears fueled by ongoing optimism surrounding the blockchain, although concerns persist about potential sell-offs from FTX (CRYPTO: FTT) and Alameda Research.

Solana Rallies But Can It Hold If FTX And Alameda Liquidate $192M Worth Of SOL?

The latest price moves in bitcoin [BTC] and crypto markets in context for Dec. 22, 2023. First Mover is CoinDesk's daily newsletter that contextualizes the latest actions in the crypto markets.

First Mover Americas: Optimism's OP and Solana Rally

The Solana Saga device saw huge demand last week amid a surge in the price of bonk, with 30 million tokens included with the phone.

News for Solana Crypto (SOL)