Solana is undeniably one of the most promising blockchain platforms that has emerged in recent times. It provides users with a plethora of features, which include creating the cryptocurrency SOL, decentralized finance, and smart contracts.
SOL is one of the most eco-friendly cryptocurrencies currently in the market since it uses less energy than other popular cryptocurrencies. Additionally, SOL’s circulation is limited to 489 million coins, which helps maintain the cryptocurrency’s value.
It is not surprising that Solana has become a preferred alternative for many traders as it offers several benefits when compared to its competitors.
Solana’s most significant advantage is its fast and low-cost transaction capabilities, which is very attractive to users who prefer a more cost-effective and rapid solution. In particular, Solana gained a surge in popularity when Ethereum transaction fees sky-rocketed, driving people to look for an alternative. The increased use of Solana indicates that traders and investors alike are making it a preferred choice in the cryptocurrency space.
Solana (SOL)
Market cap: $11.3 billion
Solana, a blockchain platform developed in 2017, has gained popularity as an advanced platform that supports the development of decentralized, scalable applications. The project is backed by the Solana Foundation based in Geneva, while Solana Labs located in San Francisco built the blockchain in an open-source framework.
Compared to rival blockchains such as Ethereum, Solana boasts rapid transaction speeds and significantly lower transaction fees. This has contributed to SOL, the cryptocurrency that runs on the Solana blockchain, soaring almost 12,000% in value in 2021, reaching a market capitalization of over $66 billion and ranking fifth-largest in the cryptocurrency market.
Despite its meteoric rise, SOL experienced a sharp decline in 2022 due to the cryptocurrency bloodbath, losing about $11.71 billion in market capitalization and sliding to 9th place in the rankings by Oct. 3, 2022. Nonetheless, Solana’s unique features distinguish it from the thousands of other cryptocurrencies in the market, making it worth exploring further.
Proof-of-History Concept
Anatoly Yakovenko is a highly respected co-founder of Solana and a brilliant mind in the field of blockchain technology. In November 2017, Yakovenko published a comprehensive and informative white paper that detailed a groundbreaking concept known as proof-of-history (PoH).
As a coveted solution, PoH is designed to verify the accuracy of time between different events, which can be an invaluable asset in building trust in blockchain systems. With PoH, blockchains can incorporate a ledger that incorporates a trustless passage of time, providing unprecedented levels of security and transparency.
In the white paper, Yakovenko clarifies the limitations of publicly available blockchains that depend on local clocks, which limit their functionality and efficacy. This lack of standardization and lack of a reliable time source can lead to discrepancies and differences among participants in the network.
However, with PoH, blockchain systems can forgo such limitations, build trust and become more effective for all stakeholders. This innovative concept is indeed a game-changer in the blockchain space, thanks to Yakovenko’s hard work and pioneering spirit.
Solana History
Yakovenko has an impressive background, having worked with some of the leading technology companies in the world like Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM). While working with distributed systems, he recognized the importance of having a reliable clock to ensure network synchronization.
He discovered that synchronizing networks not only simplifies the process but also leads to faster networks with unlimited potential. This realization led Yakovenko to explore and innovate in the world of blockchain technology.
After conducting extensive research, Yakovenko deduced that proof-of-history could be used to enhance blockchain technology’s speed and efficiency compared to systems like Bitcoin and Ethereum that lacked clocks.
These traditional blockchain systems have only been able to manage a maximum of 15 transactions per second worldwide, which is a vast contrast to the massive throughput observed in centralized payment systems like Visa’s peak of 65,000 transactions per second.
With Yakovenko’s insight into the importance of reliable clocks and network synchronization, he has revolutionized the blockchain industry, paving the way for a faster and more efficient blockchain future.
Beginnings
Yakovenko’s journey in developing his vision for a new cryptocurrency began in a private codebase using the C programming language. However, the project underwent a significant transformation when his former Qualcomm colleague, Greg Fitzgerald, suggested migrating the entire codebase to the Rust programming language. This change provided the project with greater flexibility and versatility, as well as making it more secure.
By February of 2018, Fitzgerald had taken the project to the next level by creating the first open-source implementation of Yakovenko’s white paper. Fitzgerald’s hard work and dedication resulted in the first successful release of the project.
In the initial release, Fitzgerald demonstrated that the innovative project could handle up to 10,000 signed transactions in just over half a second. The success of this implementation also caught the attention of Stephen Akridge, another former colleague of Yakovenko’s Qualcomm team, who discovered a technique to significantly improve throughput by offloading signature verification to GPU processors.
Expansion
In a successful completion of project milestones, a group including Yakovenko, Fitzgerald, Akridge and three other specialists decided to team up and establish a notable tech firm named Loom.
However, given the possibility of confusion among clients with an Ethereum-based project which goes by a similar name, Loom was rebranded to Solana – a name inspired by the beach resort town close to San Diego where the founders stayed and had previously worked for Qualcomm.
Solana project scaled up to integrate cloud-based networks in June 2018 which was a remarkable achievement. The company even went further by publishing a 50-node, permissioned public test net which displayed sustained performance in executing high bursts of transaction processing at 250,000 TPS. These achievements portrayed resilience, innovation and astute abilities of the newly born firm.
