These days, using cryptocurrency either as an investment or a mode of payment is becoming more widespread. With the number of cryptocurrencies available now, it could be difficult to choose which one suits your needs. Sa series natin na Coin of the Week, we will explore different cryptocurrencies na pwede ninyong piliin at gamitin. And for this week, we will talk about Solana.
Solana: A Brief History
According to Investopedia, “Solana is a blockchain platform designed to host decentralized, scalable applications. Founded in 2017, Solana is an open-source project currently run by Solana Foundation based in Geneva, while the blockchain was built by San Francisco-based Solana Labs.” The cryptocurrency being run by Solana also goes by the same name Solana (or SOLUSD) using the symbol ‘SOL.’ Considered to be the 5th largest cryptocurrency, Solana, also known by the ticker symbol SOL, has a market capitalization of $30 billion.
Solana’s founder, Anatoly Yakovenko,wrote a whitepaper introducing the concept of ‘Proof of History’ or PoH, which focuses on the order of passage of time when checking for transactions within the blockchain. Yakonvenko’s experience in distributed systems design enabled him to create a system that simplifies network synchronization. He did this by using PoH and a clock to speed up blockchain transactions, which is non-existent in other blockchains such as BTC and Ethereum.
Together with ‘Proof of Stake’ or PoS,’ Solana blockchain allows transactions to quickly be time-stamped and verified, allowing more transactions per second. This made Solana more scalable than its rival blockchains.
Key Features
Solana uses Proof of Stake technology, but also utilizes Proof of History technology which, according to Blockworks, “lowers latency and increases throughput because slot leaders can stream transactions to the rest of the validators in real-time rather than waiting to fill an entire block and send it at once.” Sa blockchain na ito, mas mabilis ang mga transactions compared to other blockchains, like Ethereum.
Solana claims that due to more transactions per second, its fees are also lower unlike BTC and Ethereum.
According to Tokenterminal, Solana’s current price is at $90 with a current market cap of $30 billion.
Where to Buy Solana
Solana is available on the following exchanges (centralized):
- Coinbase
- Krakek
- FTX
- Binance
It is also available on decentralized exchanges such as Radium, Orca, TDXP, and Serum. The average fee on the block is about $0.00025.
Issues
A number of concerns about Solana began circulating last year, like how Solana lied about the number of coins in circulation. Yakovenko provided an explanation that coins were made for more liquidity in the aftermarket.
Solana’s rivals also argue about its centralization as half of the token supply is owned by capitalist firms. In addition, the number of validators for its Proof of History system are not enough, enabling a lot of users to hoard tokens.
However, despite the current issues, Solana still remains one of the biggest cryptocurrencies in the industry. It is still growing and is even projected to grow more within the next few years.