Solana

Solana is an open source project implementing a new, high-performance, permissionless blockchain. Solana is a general purpose blockchain similar to Ethereum. End user applications as of now include decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFT), marketplaces, games, and more. It aims to improve scalability by introducing a proof-of-history (PoH) consensus combined with the underlying proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus of the blockchain.

Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko published a whitepaper describing Proof of History, a technique that would become critical to Solana's blockchain infrastructure, in Nov. 2017. 

Co-founder Greg Fitzgerald, who had worked with Yakovenko at Qualcomm, began prototyping the open source implementation of the whitepaper. It was published under the name Silk in 2018. 

After starting the company under the name Loom, Yakovenko, Fitzgerald, and other co-founders rebranded to Solana. Solana launched on Mainnet Beta in March 2020.

Solana was built to facilitate the development of scalable, user-friendly decentralized apps with low costs and high speeds for transactions.

Solana believes its unique blockchain architecture that combines the proof-of-stake consensus mechanism and its own proof of history mechanism is the key to achieving these goals.

Proof of history works almost like a cryptographic timestamp that proves that an event has occurred at a specific time. It enables the blockchain to work fast while maintaining security and decentralization.

There are about 304 million SOL in circulation as of November 2021. Solana has an initial inflation rate of 8%, which will decrease by 15% a year until it reaches a long-term inflation rate of 1.5%. SOL is Solana’s native token.

Solana competes with other blockchain platforms such as Ethereum and Avalanche to host crypto projects such as NFTs, decentralized exchanges, and gaming. 

Developers and users flocked from Ethereum to Solana due to high transaction costs, but many could gravitate back towards Ethereum if it manages to lower costs, which could happen as a result of the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade and layer 2 rollups. 

Solana.com
Docs.solana.com/history
Forums.solana.com

Bitcoin

Ethereum

More than $400 million worth of short positions have been liquidated in the last day as Bitcoin nears $69K and Ethereum and Solana surge.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana Shorts Get Rekt as BTC Price Rebounds Near $69K

TBD, co-founded by former dYdX team members, has raised $3 million in a seed round co-led by CMT Digital and ParaFi.

Solana-based TBD, a prediction market protocol for ‘verified' human opinion, raises $3 million

Polkadot

Crypto markets climb 3% as traders position for Nvidia's earnings, which analysts say now overshadow the SOTU as the key catalyst.

Polkadot, Solana Lead Altcoin Surge Ahead of Nvidia Earnings Call

Bhutan has launched a blockchain-powered digital nomad visa that requires applicants to deposit gold-backed TER tokens on the Solana network, marking a rare fusion of residency policy and sovereign crypto adoption.

Bhutan Rolls out Blockchain-Powered Digital Nomad Visa Using Solana Gold Token

Solana (SOL) slid back down to its lowest levels since 2023 this week as market sentiment soured, but on-chain activity held up, led by tokenized real-world assets.

Solana News: SOL Sell-Off Deepens as Sentiment Sours, but RWA Activity Stays Strong

The Solana projects made the "difficult decision" to cease operations after January's treasury breach and subsequent failed rescue efforts.

Solana DeFi Project Step Finance to Wind Down Weeks After $29M Hack

Analysts warn that bitcoin's prolonged failure to break above its current range is tilting the technical outlook toward the bears.

ETH, SOL, XRP extend losses as AI scare trade unsettles risk markets

Solana Company unveiled plans for the “Pacific Backbone,” a high-speed infrastructure expansion across Asia-Pacific aimed at strengthening staking, validation, and institutional access within the Solana ecosystem.

Solana Company Maps Out ‘Pacific Backbone' Roadmap to Boost Asia-Pacific Infrastructure

The initiative targets institutional demand across Asia-Pacific, offering DeFi tools, liquid staking, and execution services designed for traditional finance firms entering the crypto space.

Solana Company starts building high-speed infrastructure to prepare SOL for next 'super cycle'

Pacific Backbone initiative will develop a high-speed, low-latency network connecting Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

Pantera-backed Solana Company kicks off APAC staking infrastructure buildout

U.S. spot crypto ETFs saw broad-based redemptions led by bitcoin and ether funds, while Solana products drew fresh inflows, signaling selective institutional rotation rather than a full retreat from digital assets.

Bitcoin, ether, xrp ETFs bleed while Solana bucks outflow trend

Major tokens stayed under pressure even as risk sentiment improved in equities, with a firmer dollar and Fed rate uncertainty keeping crypto rallies short-lived.

Ether, XRP, Solana slide in crypto retreat despite tech-led lift in Asia stocks

Crypto yield generated significant excitement when it emerged in 2017, particularly in DeFi, due to its earning potential. However, small holders were often excluded. Standard staking offered minimal rewards, while riskier options threatened capital. Today, we focus on addressing these challenges. Ilya Tarutov believes there's a better solution. As the founder of Tramplin.

Premium Staking on Solana: Ilya Tarutov on Tramplin.io and Savings-Style Rewards for Smaller Holders

The creator platform's new product lets users trade tokens linked to social-media traction, a Polymarket-style bet on vibes rather than events.

Zora moves onto Solana with 'attention markets' for trading internet trends

Zora, a socialfi platform closely associated with the Ethereum Layer 2 Base, is launching its new attention market platform on Solana.

Zora launches ‘attention markets' on Solana

Solana (SOL) steadied this week after a month of steep losses as institutional flows turned positive and on-chain activity pushed to fresh highs.

Solana News: SOL Sell-Off Eases as Institutional Inflows Return, RWAs Hit Records

Standard Chartered slashed its cryptocurrency price targets, warning bitcoin could slide toward $50,000 and ethereum near $1,400 in the coming months before a projected rebound, signaling mounting pressure across digital assets despite a resilient long-term outlook.

Standard Chartered Cuts BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL Forecasts

Solana treasury companies are starting to turn to staking income and on-chain financing tools as lower SOL prices pressure balance sheets and share prices.

Solana Company shares jump 17% as firm rolls out borrowing against staked SOL

Meme coins slipped modestly this week but outperformed core cryptocurrency Solana (SOL) as on-chain trading volumes remained high and leading launchpads sharpened their focus on trading.

Meme Coin News: Memes Defy SOL Slide as Pump.fun and Base App Double Down on Trading

Resilience built from the debris of 2022 is now shaping the Solana ecosystems future, leaders from Jupiter, Backpack, Kamino and DoubleZero argued at Consensus Hong Kong 2026.

From FTX debris to global finance: Solana's 2026 plan is all about the application layer

The Hyperlane Nexus Bridge will enable holders to transfer wBTC tokens between Ethereum and Solana, the team wrote in a press release.

Wrapped Bitcoin team taps Hyperlane for WBTC bridge between Ethereum and Solana

From ETFs to stablecoins to AI infrastructure, Solana's pitch in Hong Kong was clear: less memecoin mania, more internet capital markets.

News for Solana Crypto (SOL)