What is Solana?

Solana is a single-chain, delegated proof of stake protocol whose focus is on delivwhaering scalability without sacrificing decentralisation or security. The high throughput Solana blockchain is based on proof of history (PoH) and proof of stake (PoS). Built by a team of networking engineers, Solana aims to become the main blockchain for modern internet applications.

A brief history of Solana

Solana is the brainchild of Anatoly Yakovenko. In November 2017, Yakovenko published a white paper describing a timekeeping method for distributed systems called proof of history. He argued that one of the limitations to scalability in blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum was the time needed to reach a consensus on the sequence of transactions. With proof of history, you are able to create historical records that prove that an event occurs during a specific moment in time, automating the overall transaction sorting process for blockchains.

In February 2018, Yakovenko and former Qualcomm colleague Greg Fitzgerald released a prototype of the first open-source implementation of Anatoly's white paper. Soon after, they, along with fellow Qualcomm colleague Stephen Akridge and three others, co-founded Solana, a name inspired by the beach that Yakovenko, Fitzgerald, and Akridge all lived in and surfed at for a period of 3 years during their Qualcomm days.

How Solana works

Core to Solana's scaling solution is a decentralised clock titled proof of history, built to solve the problem of time in distributed networks where there is not a single, trusted source of time. By using verifiable delay functions (VDF), PoH allows each node to locally generate timestamps with SHA256 computations. This eliminates the need for the broadcasts of timestamps across the network, improving overall network efficiency. One of its SOL’s biggest advantages is its scalability. Solana is able to process over 700,000 transactions per second. Its high throughput capability appeals especially to high-frequency traders. The first use case for DeFi application on Solana was Serum, built by the team behind FTX.

What is Solana used for?

Solana is a general purpose blockchain rivalling Ethereum. It has a different technical foundation: developers write applications using Rust instead of Solidity or Vyper. End user applications include decentralised finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFT), marketplaces, and gaming.

Solana's native cryptocurrency SOL is used to pay for transaction fees and staking to support the network.