What is Solana?

Solana is a type of cryptocurrency or a digital currency that only exists online. Solana was released in April 2019, and it was traded for less than $1 per coin. Since then, there has been a fast rise in its price, and as of November 2021, Solana is being traded for more than $200. According to CoinMarketCap.com, it is one of the top 10 largest cryptocurrencies by total value.

What is Solana?

Solana is considered one of the most popular cryptocurrencies among more than 10,000 that currently exist. Anatoly Yakovenko created Solana, and the individual unit of the Solana is called a SOL. Solana is a web-scale blockchain that provides secure, fast, scalable, decentralized marketplaces and apps. This blockchain database tracks and manages the currency and records every transaction that’s ever occurred in it. It is like a running receipt. The system network records every transaction in the currency and verifies the data’s integrity.

Solana’s decentralized setup makes the network easier to use, and users can make transactions without any intermediary companies in between. It is considered the fastest blockchain in the world. Solana is confident in its ability to verify 65,000 transactions per second at the cost of less than a penny each and 400ms block times. Many people think of crypto coins as just a form of digital currency, but they can also be used as a token that applies to other platform apps. Examples of those are using Solana coins to power smart contracts, NFT’s, decentralized finance apps and more.

What can Solana do?

There are several applications that Solana offers and a variety of features:

• Currency: Solana can be used to send or receive coins or use the coins to transfer them in exchange for goods and services. You have to have a cryptocurrency wallet.

• Smart Contracts: Smart contracts are apps that execute the terms of a contract when its conditions are met.

• Non-fungible tokens (NFT’s): These are primarily digital arts. NFT’s can also be found in Solana, and it allows artists and others to sell them to consumers.

• Decentralized finance: Using Solana, you can create and use payments without using an intermediary company that can be voided by centralized or government control.

• Digital apps: Solana supports users to develop a range of other apps, including games, social media, investing, and more.

• Proof of history approach: Since Solana uses a proof of stake approach to validate transactions already. They also timestamp them, which eliminates the ability to re-order transactions to a validator’s advantage. This makes Solana a “censorship-resistant” network.

So, broaden your horizon and think of Solana as more of a token that can power various apps rather than just being a currency.