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

Travala has integrated with Solana, expanding cryptocurrency booking support beyond Ethereum and BNB Chain.

Travala expands booking support to Solana-based assets, offers SOL travel rewards

The following article is adapted from The Block's newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.

The Daily: BingX gets hacked, Frankendancer launches on Solana, Catizen's token goes live and more

Seasoned trader Peter Brandt is warning that Ethereum's (ETH) biggest competitor is at risk of a significant correction.

Top Ethereum Rival Could Plunge by Over 40% if Support Level Fails, According to Veteran Trader Peter Brandt

Meanwhile, the Firedancer validator client has now moved to Solana testnet.

Early Version of Long Awaited Firedancer Solana Validator Is on Mainnet

Firedancer, a blockchain validator client for Solana, is expected to enhance the network's efficiency and scalability.

Jump Crypto's Frankendancer client launches on Solana mainnet; Firedancer on testnet

Solana Mobile unveiled its next Web3 Phone, the successor to the Solana Saga, its first product. The phone, referred to previously as “Chapter 2,” is now called the Seeker, and has been confirmed to feature a 6.36” display, with 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM, “a longer battery” and two cameras.

Solana Mobile Unveils Seeker, Its Next Web3 Focused Phone

The ramshackle validator client is a prelude to Jump's highly anticipated Firedancer software.

Jump's 'Frankendancer' Validator Client Is Live on Solana Mainnet

Jupiter also announced other updates, including an upgrade to its memecoin trading platform and a new mobile app.

Solana DEX aggregator Jupiter acquires SolanaFM, Coinhall

Ethereum

Stablecoins are becoming systemically important to the global financial economy, Bernstein wrote in a recent report.

SocGen's Crypto Unit Takes EURO Stablecoin to Solana After Flopping on Ethereum

Solana prices rallied today, causing the highly prominent cryptocurrency to attain its highest value in several weeks.

Solana Climbs Over 10% To Reach Highest Since Late August

Bitcoin

Meanwhile, blockchain sleuth ZachXBT alleges three perpetrators were involved in a $243 million theft from a single Genesis creditor.

The Daily: Solana's new ‘Seeker' crypto phone, Banana Gun's misfire, Trump's bitcoin burgers and more

The DeFi platform plans to build an array of financial services tools, including spot and derivatives trading and a predictions market.

Solana-Based Drift Raises $25M Toward Goal of Becoming 'Robinhood of Crypto:' Report

Macro guru and Real Vision CEO Raoul Pal is highlighting a layer-1 blockchain that he sees becoming a major force to reckon with.

‘Pay Attention to Sui' – Macro Guru Raoul Pal Says Solana Rival Looking Like ‘The Chosen One' Amid Bullish Signals

The newly revealed Solana Seeker brings various enhancements over the Saga smartphone—at less than half the price.

Solana's New Phone Promises More for Less—And Already Seeing Huge Demand

Demand for the Solana Saga successor surged after two cat-themed memecoin airdrops briefly covered the cost of the device.

Solana Saga crypto phone successor emerges from stealth as ‘Seeker,' surpassing 140,000 presales

Solana Labs's phone designing subsidiary is slated to ship its second crypto phone in 2025, Solana Mobile announced at the Token 2049 conference on Thursday.

Solana Unveils Details of Second Crypto Phone 'Seeker'

The chief investment officer of crypto asset management firm Bitwise says that Ethereum (ETH) appears to be in a period of stagnation after being outpaced by both Bitcoin (BTC) and Solana (SOL).

Ethereum in ‘Doldrums' As Bitcoin and Solana Outperform ETH, Says Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan – Here's Why

Pastor Kelby has been ousted from the Church of the Smoking Chicken Fish, following a number of allegations surfacing.

Solana Meme Coin Church Turns on Pastor After Scam Allegations Surface

DePIN refers to physical infrastructure networks built using blockchain technology and token incentives which other projects can use without having to buy and run their own equipment.

Borderless Capital Introduces $100M DePIN Fund Backed by Peaq, Solana Foundation

A crypto project that made waves last year with its iris-scanning technology has made its way to a new blockchain. According to a new blog announcement from Sam Altman's Worldcoin (WLD), the identity-focused project is making the jump to Solana (SOL) via the Wormhole interoperability platform.

Sam Altman's Worldcoin (WLD) Expands to Solana (SOL) Blockchain Via Wormhole

The Pipe Network contributor has raised capital to help scale, recruit professionals and launch a private beta and testnet.

Multicoin and Solana Ventures join $10 million Series A in Permissionless Labs

The price of Solana (SOL) has recovered as buyers have halted the decline above the $120 support. Price analysis by Coinidol.com.

Solana Recovers But Selling Pressure Is Present At $140

Superfast founder Martin Tromp has launched a Solana validator in one of Teraco's Johannesburg data centers. Solana is a fast, scalable blockchain platform competing with Ethereum. As a proof-of-stake system, validators like Tromp's play a crucial role in maintaining network security and verifying transactions.

Network Latency Drives Solana Validator to South Africa's Commercial Hub

Meanwhile, the SEC claimed that when it said "crypto asset securities" it never meant tokens were actually securities.

The Daily: MicroStrategy buys over $1 billion more bitcoin, Wormhole brings Worldcoin's World ID to Solana, Starknet community approves staking vote and more

Wormhole contributors have completed the work of making it possible to build Solana apps that integrate World IDs.

News for Solana Crypto (SOL)