Solana (SOL)

A high-performance Layer-1 blockchain platform enabling fast, low-cost transactions for decentralized applications and digital assets using proof-of-history and proof-of-stake consensus.

What is Solana (SOL)?

Solana is an open-source blockchain launched in March 2020 by Solana Labs, founded in 2018 by Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal. It addresses blockchain scalability challenges through its innovative proof-of-history (PoH) mechanism combined with proof-of-stake (PoS), allowing the network to process up to 65,000 transactions per second (TPS) at an average cost of $0.00025 per transaction. This hybrid consensus timestamps transactions cryptographically to create a verifiable historical record, reducing validation times and enabling efficient decentralized app (dApp) development in areas like DeFi, NFTs, and gaming.

The platform’s native digital asset, SOL, powers network operations, including staking for validators and transaction fees. Solana uses Rust for smart contract programming via its SPL Token standard, akin to Ethereum’s ERC-20, supporting seamless integration with other languages and fostering a developer community of over 3.5 million active Rust users. As of September 2025, Solana ranks as the second-largest blockchain by total value locked (TVL), with integrations like Franklin Templeton’s BENJI platform for onchain U.S. government money funds and Visa’s support for USDC payments to merchants via Worldpay and Nuvei.

Despite its strengths, Solana has faced network outages, including a seven-hour disruption in May 2022 due to bots and a fork in September 2021 from transaction surges, leading to improvements in resilience. It also encountered a 2022 class-action lawsuit alleging unregistered securities sales and misleading token supply information, alongside wallet hacks, though it continues to expand with mobile initiatives like the Seeker phone featuring onchain perks.