What Is Solana (SOL)?

Solana (SOL) is a high-performance blockchain platform known for its scalability, speed, and low transaction costs. Learn all its fundamentals here.

Introduction to Solana

Solana is a high-performance blockchain designed to support decentralised applications (dapps), decentralised finance (DeFi) protocols, non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces, and other high-throughput use cases. 

Founded by former Qualcomm engineer Anatoly Yakovenko in 2017, Solana officially launched its mainnet in 2020, aiming to solve the scalability challenges faced by earlier blockchains. With its fast block times, low transaction fees, and growing dapp ecosystem, Solana has become one of the most prominent platforms in the Web3 space.

At the heart of Solana’s design is its unique Proof of History (PoH) consensus mechanism, which drastically improves network efficiency and transaction speeds. This foundational innovation, combined with a robust Proof of Stake (PoS) layer and Tower Byzantine Fault Tolerance (Tower BFT) consensus, has enabled Solana to process thousands of transactions per second (tps) while maintaining decentralisation and affordability.

Solana is recognised for its vibrant developer community, cultural virality through meme coins and NFTs, and product innovation, including mobile hardware. It has positioned itself as a serious alternative to Ethereum in several consumer and developer-facing domains.

How Solana Works

Solana’s architecture is purpose-built for speed and scalability. The core of its performance comes from a hybrid consensus mechanism that combines PoH with Tower BFT, a variant of Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT). This combination allows Solana to synchronise the network with minimal overhead, achieving sub-second finality and enabling high throughput.

Proof of History and Tower BFT

PoH is a cryptographic method that time stamps transactions before they enter the consensus process. It uses a sequential hashing function (SHA-256) to generate a verifiable order of events, reducing the need for validator communication and coordination. This eliminates a major bottleneck found in traditional blockchains.

Tower BFT, built on top of PoH, is a lightweight consensus algorithm that enables validators to vote on the state of the blockchain based on this pre-ordered history. This results in faster confirmation times and reduced latency, with block finality occurring in as little as 400 milliseconds.

Performance Metrics

Solana’s architecture allows for significant transaction throughput. While the network’s theoretical maximum exceeds 65,000 tps, real-world user transactions typically range from 400 to slightly over 1,000 tps. When validator vote transactions are included, the network regularly hits up to 4,200 tps. Transaction fees remain exceptionally low, averaging under US$0.01, making it one of the most cost-effective blockchains in operation.

The network continues to improve its stability and throughput with upgrades like the QUIC protocol for better transaction handling and the Firedancer validator client — launched in 2025 — which enhances decentralisation and fault tolerance.

The Solana Program Library (SPL)

The Solana Program Library (SPL) is a suite of on-chain programmes that serves as the foundation for application development on the Solana blockchain. Equivalent to Ethereum’s ERC standards, SPL provides reusable, pre-coded components that simplify tasks like token creation, governance, and on-chain recordkeeping.

Key SPL programmes include:

• SPL Token: Solana’s standard for fungible token creation, transfers, minting, and burning.
  
• SPL Governance: Powers decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) structures with features like proposal voting and treasury control.
  
• SPL Memo and Staking: Enable on-chain data recording and token-based governance staking.

SPL programmes are stateless and built for parallel processing, which, when paired with Solana’s high throughput, allows developers to build scalable, performance-optimised applications. Most tokens and DeFi protocols on Solana today are built using SPL standards.

Ecosystem Overview: What’s Built on Solana

Solana has cultivated a rich and diverse ecosystem spanning DeFi, NFTs, gaming, and cultural tokens. It offers a fertile ground for builders and users seeking high-speed, low-cost experiences on-chain.

DeFi and Stablecoins

Solana’s DeFi ecosystem continues to grow steadily, with total value locked (TVL) reaching $9.5 billion in April 2025. Protocols like Raydium, Marinade Finance, and Jito play central roles in powering liquidity, staking, and maximal extractable value (MEV) optimisation. 

Stablecoins are also thriving on Solana, with USDC and USDT leading the charge. The network supports over $2.9 billion in stablecoin value (as of this writing), further cementing its relevance as a trading and payment layer.

NFTs and Gaming

Solana has emerged as a formidable force in NFTs, with marketplaces like Magic Eden and Tensor accounting for significant NFT trading volume on the network. The low-cost, fast-settlement nature of Solana makes it an attractive platform for artists, collectors, and traders.

Gaming on Solana has also seen significant innovation, with tap-to-earn games like SonicX having millions of users through simplified onboarding, social integrations, and mobile-first mechanics. Additionally, the emergence of the Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) Layer-2 network has enabled new game infrastructure, supporting a variety of GameFi projects.

Meme Coins and Cultural Activity

The meme coin economy on Solana exploded in 2024 and 2025, driven by platforms like pump.fun, which allows users to launch tokens with minimal cost and no coding expertise. More than nine million tokens were launched through pump.fun by mid-2025.

Notable meme coins include BONK, Solana’s community dog token, and dogwifhat (WIF), which went viral on TikTok. Popcat also gained traction, rallying 298% in the first quarter of 2025. These tokens reflect a cultural shift where community sentiment and social media influence significantly shape on-chain markets.

Developer Adoption Momentum

In 2024, Solana surpassed Ethereum in new developer acquisition, according to a report by Electric Capital. The network added over 7,600 new developers, driven by low fees, high throughput, and ease of onboarding through consumer apps. While Ethereum retains more experienced developers overall, Solana’s appeal to new and grassroots builders has made it a magnet for emerging dapp innovation.

Solana Product Suite

Solana Mobile: Saga and Seeker

Solana launched its first smartphone, Saga, in 2023, equipped with a SeedVault for secure private key storage, a dedicated dapp store, and over 512 GB of storage. While sales were initially modest, demand surged when users began receiving BONK and other token airdrops that exceeded the cost of the phone.

In 2025, Solana announced its second-generation device, the Seeker. First unveiled at ‘TOKEN2049 Singapore’ in September 2024, the Seeker featured notable upgrades, including trustless hardware-software communication (TEEPIN), an on-chain identity standard for verifying humanity and deterring Sybil attacks (Seeker ID), and SKR tokens for governance, staking, and developer incentives across the Solana Mobile ecosystem.

Solana Pay and Blinks

Solana Pay enables merchants to accept crypto payments, primarily via USDC. Its low fees and near-instant settlement make it ideal for point-of-sale transactions. In 2024, Solana introduced Blinks (short for ‘blockchain links’), which allow on-chain actions like token swaps and wallet connections to be embedded in URLs and shared directly on social media platforms.

These innovations underscore Solana’s commitment to bridging traditional user experiences with blockchain-native functionality.

Timeline: Key Events in Solana’s Evolution

Solana: Pros vs Cons

Tokenomics of Solana (SOL)

The SOL token plays a central role in the operation and governance of the Solana network.

Use Cases

SOL is used to:

• Pay transaction and smart contract fees.
• Stake and earn rewards through validator delegation.
• Participate in governance and proposal voting.
• Interact with dapps across the Solana ecosystem, including DeFi, NFTs, and gaming platforms.

Supply, Inflation, and Staking

• Total supply: Uncapped. As of May 2025, approximately 600 million SOL have been issued.
• Inflation model: Begins at 8%, decreasing 15% annually until stabilising at 1.5% by 2030.
• Burn mechanism: 50% of transaction fees are permanently destroyed to counteract inflation.

Staking and Validator Distribution

• SOL holders can delegate tokens to validators to earn staking rewards.
• The network maintains over 1,400 active validators across 30-plus countries, with a Nakamoto Coefficient of 19, reflecting moderate decentralisation.

Market Position

• All-time high (ATH): $259.96 (November 2021)
• All-time low (ATL): $0.5052 (May 2020)

How to Buy SOL on Crypto.com

Purchasing SOL is straightforward with the Crypto.com App, which supports more than 400 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, meme coins, established altcoins, and stablecoins.

1. Download the Crypto.com App, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play. 
2. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the sign-up and identity verification process. 
3. Fund the account via bank transfer (this may take one to three days to clear) or through instant methods like debit/credit card or Apple Pay. The Crypto.com App supports more than 20 fiat currencies, including USD, EUR, and GBP.
4. Once the account is funded, users can purchase SOL and other cryptocurrencies directly through the App.

SOL can also be used through the Crypto.com Visa Card, enabling purchases at over 80 million merchants globally. 

Conclusion

Solana represents one of the most ambitious and performant blockchain platforms in the blockchain and crypto industry today. With innovations like Proof of History, real-world product integrations, and a thriving on-chain culture, Solana has carved out a unique space in the Web3 ecosystem.

While challenges like centralisation and regulatory scrutiny persist, its rapid technical evolution, vibrant developer activity, and mobile-first strategy position Solana as a formidable platform for the future of decentralised apps and infrastructure.

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