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

With success stories like popular memecoins dogwifhat and bonk, everyone wants to be the one to create the next big thing.

Solana saw nearly half a million tokens launched last month

Dogecoin

Cryptocurrencies linked with social messaging giant Telegram like Toncoin (CRYPTO: TON) and Notcoin (CRYPTO: NOT) edged higher on Sunday, even as the broader market moved sideways. What Happened: NOT accumulated double-digit gains in the last 24 hours, with trading volumes spiking 141% to $4.43 billion.

Telegram-Linked Notcoin Pips Solana, Dogecoin In Volumes To Become Fourth-Most Traded Crypto

Dog-themed memecoin Bonk (CRYPTO: BONK) has corrected since hitting its peak last week, but an analyst feels such retests are great confirmation signals for further upside. What Happened: On Sunday, prominent cryptocurrency trader Rekt Capital took to X, formerly Twitter, to express his views on the trajectory of the Solana (CRYPTO: SOL)-based token.

Solana's Answer To Dogecoin Is Correcting But Analyst Says It Could Be Confirmation That Bon Has More Upside

Cardano

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse foresees the emergence of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for cryptocurrencies beyond bitcoin and ether, following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approval of spot bitcoin and ethereum ETFs.

Ripple CEO Says XRP, Solana, Cardano ETFs Are ‘Inevitable'

dogwifhat

A widely followed cryptocurrency analyst and trader is warning that a Solana (SOL)-based memecoin looks primed for an epic collapse. The analyst pseudonymously known as Bluntz tells his 260,700 followers on the social media platform X that dogwifhat (WIF) could lose around 70% of its value from current levels.

Top Analyst Issues Warning on Memecoin That's Exploded Over 3,800% Year-to-Date, Updates Outlook on Solana

Metaplex, a Solana-based protocol that allows for the easy deployment of NFTs across applications, has introduced MPL-404, a hybrid decentralized finance standard. MPL-404 leans on SPL-404, a protocol that allows for the exchange of an NFT for a fixed number of tokens assigned by the designers of each artistic collection.

Metaplex Announces Introduction of Hybrid Defi Protocol for Solana

Shiba Inu

Over the past several years, several cryptocurrencies have seen significant price increases. These tokens have consistently outperformed other cryptocurrencies and most other asset classes.

Here's How Much $1,000 Invested In These Best Performing Cryptos Is Worth Today: Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and Solana

One trader is seeing seven-figure profits on a Solana (SOL)-based memecoin that is up 51x year-to-date, according to on-chain data. Blockchain tracking firm Lookonchain notes that one trader purchased dogwifhat (WIF) in December 2023 and has racked up a 118,967% gain by making a series of strategic sales as the memecoin soared.

Trader Records 118,967% Return on a Solana Memecoin That's Exploded Over 51x Year-to-Date: On-Chain Data

A recent slew of tokens issued on Pump Fun by fairly well-known and local celebrities has gotten the crypto community divided on their purpose.

As Random Celebs Like Caitlyn Jenner Embrace Solana Meme Coins, Early Hoarders Fare Best

Bitcoin

Ethereum

Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, has forecasted the advent of exchange-traded funds for XRP (CRYPTO: XRP), Solana (CRYPTO: SOL), and Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA), following positive developments around Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) spot ETFs. What Happened: Garlinghouse anticipates that the establishment of these ETFs is imminent and views this as a positive trend at the Consensus 2024 Event, as reported by Coindesk.

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse Foresees XRP, Solana, Cardano ETFs Amid Bitcoin, Ethereum Approvals

It's only a matter of time, the CEO of Ripple said on stage at Consensus 2024 in Austin.

Ripple's Brad Garlinghouse Foresees XRP, Solana, Cardano ETFs: Consensus 2024

Babylon, a startup working to enable native Bitcoin staking on chains like Ethereum and Solana, just raised $70 million towards that goal.

Bitcoin Startup Babylon Raises $70 Million to Bring BTC Staking to Ethereum and Solana

The move will enable Solana users to transfer their assets between Arbitrum, Ethereum, Polygon, and other chains integrated with LayerZero.

LayerZero adds Solana to its cross-chain bridge network

Real Vision analyst Jamie Coutts believes the altcoin market is gearing up for a massive breakout against Bitcoin (BTC). The former Bloomberg analyst tells his 18,100 followers on the social media platform X that the altcoin season index, which measures the profitability of digital assets relative to BTC, could soon start flashing bullish for alts.

Altseason Signal Likely To Flash in Coming Weeks, Says Analyst Jamie Coutts – Here Are His Top Altcoin Picks

ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood has stated that cryptocurrency has become a significant political issue in U.S. elections, leading to the unexpected approval of key Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) ETF filings. What Happened: Wood made this remark at Consensus 2024, as reported by CoinDesk, attributing the sudden approval of Ether ETF filings to the growing importance of cryptocurrency in U.S. election debates.

Cathie Wood Of Ark Invest Believes Ethereum ETF Approval Linked To US Politics, Sees Likelihood Of A Solana ETF As Well

Payments giant PayPal says that its stablecoin, PayPalUSD (PYUSD), is expanding onto the blockchain of smart contract platform Solana (SOL).

PayPal's PYUSD Stablecoin Set To Expand to Solana Blockchain, Says Payments Giant

Payments giant Paypal has made Paypal USD (PYUSD) available on the Solana blockchain, making the stablecoin “faster and cheaper to use.” Platforms like Crypto.com, Phantom, and Paxos are among the first to offer PYUSD on Solana, alongside Paypal and Venmo wallets. Paypal Makes PYUSD Available on Solana Blockchain Paypal Holdings Inc.

Paypal Expands PYUSD to Solana Blockchain for Better Payment Solutions

PayPal (NYSE:PYPL) is making a strategic move by adding its (CRYPTO: PYUSD) stablecoin to the Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) blockchain, a network known for its association with meme coins. What Happened: Initially launched on the Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) blockchain in August, PYUSD was subsequently added to PayPal's Venmo peer-to-peer payments service in September.

PayPal Launches PYUSD Stablecoin On Solana

After Pump.fun devs sexualized and harmed themselves on livestreams for money, the protocol has added streaming as a feature.

Solana Meme Factory Pump.Fun Adds Livestreaming Feature—What Could Go Wrong?

PayPal's stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar now runs on Solana too, expanding its reach following the initial Ethereum debut in 2023.

PayPal Expands PYUSD Stablecoin From Ethereum to Solana

PayPal is launching its stablecoin on Solana, with the aim of offering its token holders faster and cheaper transactions.

PayPal USD to go live on Solana blockchain

PYUSD has around 8,600 holders on the Ethereum blockchain and a market cap of a tick under $400,000

PayPal Makes Retail Stablecoin Play with PYUSD on Solana

Crypto holders on Solana will be able to move their assets to Arbitrum, Ethereum, Polygon and the 70 other chains it links to – and vice versa.

Crypto Bridge LayerZero Connects to Solana Blockchain

The Solana (SOL) community recently concluded a governance vote, resulting in a decision to allocate 100% of priority fees to validators.

Solana Governance Vote Approves 100% of Priority Fees to Validators, Raises Concerns of Inflation

In a remarkable showcase of growth and enthusiasm, Penguiana, the unique penguin-themed meme coin on the Solana blockchain, has successfully launched its $PENGU token on Raydium. Buy $PENGU here on Raydium. This milestone comes after a highly successful presale, confirming strong investor interest and community support.

News for Solana Crypto (SOL)