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

Bitcoin

Ethereum

Oil jumped above $112 on threats to destroy Iranian infrastructure if no agreement is reached by midnight, while crypto markets gave back Monday's ceasefire rally gains.

Bitcoin, ether, solana hold steady as Trump sets Tuesday night deadline for Iran deal

The Solana Foundation and Asymmetric Research launched STRIDE on Monday, a tiered security program built to protect decentralized finance ( DeFi) protocols across the Solana ecosystem with ongoing evaluations, threat monitoring, and formal verification. The initiative follows the Drift Protocol hack that saw $286 million pilfered in 12 minutes last week.

Solana Foundation Launches STRIDE Security Program for DeFi Protocols Following Drift Incident

The price of Solana (SOL) has declined and is now hovering just above $75.

Coinidol.com: Solana Remains Above Its $75 Support Level

While Bitcoin developers scramble to find a solution and Ethereum prepares for 'Q-day,' Solana is trying to get ahead of that scenario.

Solana's quantum-threat readiness reveals harsh tradeoff: security vs speed

A blockchain security expert compared Drift's lapse in security to Ethereum network Ronin's $625 million loss in 2022.

Drift Protocol's $285 Million Exploit on Solana Raises Questions Over DeFi Security

The JONATHAN token, launched eight months ago, hit a high of approximately $0.00038 on April Fools' Day, in a single 1,400% candle.

‘Alive and well:' Solana memecoin honoring 193-year-old tortoise Jonathan rallies following April Fools' prank

Jonathan, a nearly 200-year-old tortoise, was widely mourned Wednesday—but his purported demise was a hoax, and there's a crypto connection.

Solana Meme Coin Linked to Death Hoax for 194-Year-Old Tortoise—Who Is Very Much Alive

The exploit did not involve a bug in Drift's code. It used "durable nonces," a legitimate Solana transaction feature, to pre-sign administrative transfers weeks before executing them, bypassing the protocol's multisig security in minutes.

How a Solana feature designed for convenience let attackers drain more than $270 million from Drift

Crypto and equities sold off after the president's national address undermined a two-day rally built on expectations the war was ending. Oil jumped 5% to above $106.

Bitcoin, ether, solana slide further as Trump threatens to hit Iran 'extremely hard'

The Solana-based DeFi platform Drift Protocol says it's under attack. In a series of tweets on X, the team behind the protocol says it's investigating unusual activity. “We are currently investigating. Please do not deposit funds into the protocol while we investigate. This is not an April Fools joke. Proceed with caution until further notice.

Solana-Based DeFi Platform Loses Over $270,000,000 in Cyberattack: Looksonchain

Solana-based perpetuals DEX Drift Protocol has suffered an exploit impacting more than $200 million in funds.

Solana DeFi Exchange Drift Protocol Exploited, Upwards of $285 Million Stolen

The platform halted deposits while it investigates suspicious activity and urges users to proceed with caution.

Solana DeFi platform Drift investigates suspicious activity, tells users to halt deposits

Onchain analysts flagged an estimated $200 million or more, drained from Drift Protocol accounts on April 1, 2026, making it one of the largest decentralized finance ( DeFi) breaches recorded this year.

Drift Protocol SOL Exploit Sees Over $200M Drained: Biggest DeFi Hack of 2026?

Institutional liquidity provider B2C2 will now route and settle large-scale stablecoin transactions for its institutional clients on Solana.

SBI Holdings' B2C2 designates Solana as primary stablecoin network for institutional clients

With GENIUS Act passed and Clarity Act gaining momentum, Kristin Smith of Solana Policy Institute foresees floodgates for institutional capital and tokenized assets.

Crypto Policy Enter A New Phase: Insights From Solana Policy Institute

Support for Magic Eden's crypto wallet is ending soon, meaning users will have to export their private keys to avoid losing access to funds.

If You Hold Solana on Magic Eden's Wallet, It's Time to Move It or Lose It

Solana (SOL) slid roughly 8% week-over-week as continuing tensions in the Middle East rattled markets and overshadowed another week of on-chain progress.

Solana News: SOL Sinks as Geopolitical Turmoil Eclipses Gains in Payments, AI

Cardano

Banks are exploring Cardano's (CRYPTO: ADA) Midnight partner chain for institutional blockchain infrastructure because it offers programmable privacy and front-running protection that Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) and Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) can't provide natively. The Three Banking Requirements Institutions need three things from blockchain that public chains struggle to deliver: privacy with selective disclosure, execution predictability without MEV extraction, and compliance tooling that doesn't broadcast sensitive information to the entire world.

Why Banks Are Looking At Cardano Midnight Instead Of Ethereum And Solana

Interactive Brokers launched crypto trading for eligible EEA investors, offering 11 cryptocurrencies alongside stocks and futures.

Interactive Brokers launches crypto trading in EEA, including BTC, ETH, SOL and XRP

Solana (SOL) price fell to its critical support, but buyers halted the decline.

Coinidol.com: Solana Resumes Its Sideways Move Above $80

The altcoin market suffered a sharp sell-off on Friday, with total capitalization dropping below $1 trillion for the first time in weeks. ETH and SOL Spearhead the Retreat The altcoin market endured a brutal session on Friday, March 27, as investors aggressively unwound positions in a frantic flight to liquidity.

Altcoins Tumble as Total Market Capitalization Falls Below $1 Trillion Mark

Umbra has opened its private wallet to the public, enabling shielded transfers, encrypted swaps, and compliance tools for Solana users.

Umbra opens privacy wallet to the public on Solana, powered by Arcium's encrypted execution engine

This shift could fundamentally reshape internet business models, Solana Foundation's Vibhu Norby believes.

Solana bets on AI agents: Foundation says network is becoming core infrastructure for ‘agentic' internet

The Solana Foundation has introduced an API-driven platform to help enterprises and financial institutions build and scale compliant financial products on the Solana network. The Solana Foundation announced the launch of the Solana Developer Platform (SDP) on March 24, 2026.

Solana Foundation Launches New AI-Ready Developer Platform for Global Financial Institutions

Solana closed out the week down around 4%, disappointing hopes of a broader sector rebound as renewed Middle East tensions jolted risk assets.

News for Solana Crypto (SOL)