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

Solana (SOL) price is in a sideways movement but stuck between moving average lines.

Solana Moves In Narrow Range, But Holds Above The Low Of $21

Solana Foundation wants upstart NFT creators to pitch their ideas for PFP collections that have the potential for long-term success.

Solana Foundation launches NFT pitch contest for aspiring creators

Prominent projects are porting over to the Solana network and developer activity remains strong, Anatoly Yakovenko said in a CoinDesk TV interview.

Solana Founder Brushes Off FTX Woes, Remains Confident in Crowded Blockchain Landscape

Polygon

Polygon climbed higher in today's session, as cryptocurrency markets marginally rebounded on Wednesday. The global crypto market cap was up by nearly 1% earlier in the day, as Tuesday's losses eased. Solana, on the other hand, remained lower, as it fell towards a key price floor.

Biggest Movers: MATIC Rebounds, as SOL Falls Back Towards Support

Algorand

As investors pull money out of the broader crypto sector ahead of expected interest rate hikes, Solana, Algorand and Polygon are bucking the trend.

Solana, Algorand and Polygon are bright spots amid crypto outflows ahead of Fed decision

Mad Lads hype helped push “pro” marketplace Tensor on top, but the latest battle for Solana traders may only be getting started.

Tensor Snatched Magic Eden's Solana NFT Crown. But for How Long?

Ethereum

The popular mobile and browser wallet courts new users with a seamless multichain experience.

Phantom Solana Wallet Adds Ethereum and Polygon Support

Last week, Magic Eden briefly lost its top spot to rival Tensor, thanks to Mad Lads. Magic Eden now says it will refocus on Solana.

Magic Eden to refocus on Solana after upstart Tensor briefly takes its NFT marketplace crown

Litecoin

Litecoin fell below the $90.00 level on Monday, as sentiment in cryptocurrency markets remained mostly bearish. The global market cap is down 1.87% at the time of writing, which seems to be a result of the upcoming Federal Reserve interest rate decision. Solana was also in the red today.

Biggest Movers: LTC Back Under $90.00, as SOL Extends Declines

The price of Solana (SOL) is bearish as it crosses above the moving average lines.

Solana Reaches Overbought Region And Fails To Overcome $24 High

Bitcoin

Small gains across the board this week after First Republic Bank's shares nosedived following publication of its latest quarterly report.

This Week in Coins: Bitcoin, ICP and Solana Lead Small Market-Wide Rally

Avalanche

Payments giant Mastercard is collaborating with a handful of layer-1 altcoin projects to create common crypto standards. In a new press release, the credit card giant says that it's teaming up with Ethereum (ETH) rivals Solana (SOL), Aptos (APT), Polygon (MATIC) and Avalanche (AVAX) to bring more trust to blockchain transactions.

Payments Giant Mastercard Partners With Solana, Polygon, Aptos and Avalanche To Create Common Crypto Standards

Mastercard Crypto Credential is a set of standards the payment processor says will help build trust in the industry.

Mastercard teaming with Solana, Polygon on new Crypto Credential standards

Armani Ferrante reflects on the buzzy launch of Mad Lads, plus Coral's larger plans with the Backpack app and versatile xNFTs.

Mad Lads Gave Solana NFTs a ‘New Heartbeat' After Losing DeGods: Coral CEO

The new tool will make it easier to interact with the Solana blockchain, even enabling NFT purchases.

Solana Labs Preps ChatGPT Plugin for Real-Time Blockchain Analysis

Phantom, a leading self-custody wallet in the Solana (SOL) ecosystem, is reportedly expanding to support the Ethereum (ETH) and Polygon (MATIC) chains. Phantom told TechCrunch that it plans to support the Ethereum and Polygon blockchains beginning May 1st on both iOs and Android devices.

New MetaMask Competitor? Top Solana Wallet Phantom Goes Multichain With Expansion to Ethereum and Polygon

Cardano

Cardano was one of Wednesday's big movers, as bullish sentiment returned to cryptocurrency markets. Spurred by an apparent collapse of First Republic Bank, the global crypto market cap moved 7% higher, as of writing. Solana was also in the green, rising by nearly 9%.

Biggest Movers: ADA, SOL Jump 9% Higher on Wednesday

Helium's newly-issued IOT token has risen by over 370% in the past 24-hours following the protocol's successful migration to the Solana blockchain last week.

Helium's IOT Token Surges 370% Following Solana Migration

Solana wallet Phantom added support for the Ethereum and Polygon blockchains in its first step to go multichain.

Solana wallet Phantom goes multichain, expands to Ethereum and Polygon

Solana Foundation's General Manager of Games Johnny Lee tells Decrypt's Kate Irwin about his predictions for Web3 gaming in 2023.

Blockchain Games Will Shed Their 'Well-Deserved' Bad Reputation In 2023, Says Solana Games Lead

Shiba Inu

Meme coin Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) is currently witnessing a significant drop in trading volume, hitting a low not seen in four months after struggling to build momentum from a local support level reached a few days ago. This stagnation in trading activity may be due to the general inactivity in the cryptocurrency market, which raises questions about Shiba Inu's ability to re-establish its upward trajectory in the near future, stated U.Today in its market report.

Shiba Inu Trading Volume Plummets To Unimaginable Lows, While Solana and Cardano Struggle: Is This The End Of The Meme Coin Era?

A veteran of the crypto space thinks one layer-1 blockchain offers slept-on opportunities not seen elsewhere in the markets. Chris Burniske, a partner at the venture capital firm Placeholder, says that Solana's (SOL) non-fungible token (NFT) ecosystem is unique in that the cost to mint NFTs is drastically lower than other chains.

Crypto Investor Chris Burniske Says People Are Still Sleeping on Big Solana (SOL) Opportunity

Polygon fell to a six-week low on Tuesday, with sentiment in cryptocurrency markets remaining bearish. The price plunged as consumer confidence in the United States fell by more than expected, coming in at a reading of 101.3 in April. Solana also slipped, hitting a two-week low.

Biggest Movers: MATIC Slides to 6-Week Low, as SOL Extends Declines

While Ethereum remains by far the most popular blockchain for minting NFTs, Polygon, Cardano and Solana have all seen small bumps in sales volume in recent weeks.

Polygon, Cardano and Solana NFT Sales Rise as Ethereum NFT Sales Slump

The Floor app now supports Solana NFTs, with the feature launching just days after Solana's buzziest mint in months.

News for Solana Crypto (SOL)