7 Facts About Solana That Will Surprise You

Last Updated February 3rd 2023

5 Min Read

As if Solana Wasn’t surprising enough already..

Key Points

Solana is among the fastest Ethereum competitors in the market.
Solana has a fast-growing ecosystem of Dapps running on top of it.
Solana uses a unique consensus model called Proof-of-History.

So, is Solana a good investment? To best answer this, let's look at some surprising facts about Solana you could find interesting.

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1. Solana Is One Of The Most Competitive Ethereum Competitors

One of the reasons behind Solana's exponential rise is that people need more efficient alternatives to Ethereum.

With Ethereum's network becoming increasingly jam-packed and transactions costly, smart contract developers are turning towards next-generation platforms that offer faster speeds and lower overall costs. This was the genesis of the phrase "Ethereum killers." These Ethereum killers are trying to attract new users by offering them an affordable alternative with better functionality than what is available in Ethereum.

Solana is a smart contracts cryptocurrency that has emerged as one of the best Ethereum competitors. Solana's competitiveness has reflected well in its price over time. Solana rose from obscurity to become a top 10 cryptocurrency by late 2021. It still maintains that position and is growing in adoption.

2. Solana Has The Fastest TPS Of All Major Blockchains

Solana's efficiency is one of the big attractions that make it so popular. With a capacity to process 50,000 transactions per second (TPS), it processes much more than Ethereum which ranges anywhere from 15-45 TPS. While Ethereum is in the process of an upgrade, it is unlikely to come anywhere near matching Solana.

The race for the fastest cryptocurrency has always been an interesting one, but few cryptocurrencies can match Solana. What's also noteworthy about Solana is that it beats the likes of Visa in transaction speeds. This means the current leaders in centralized finance have some serious competition coming their way.

3. Solana Uses A Unique Consensus Model Called Proof-of-History

Blockchain technology is changing the world, and it's doing so in a way that takes away power from intermediaries like banks or governments. For instance, Bitcoin (BTC) was created as an alternative currency without any backing. This allows transactions between two parties who would otherwise not be able to if they were using traditional methods.

While banks act as the middleman that keeps centralized finance secure, blockchain networks need a way to keep themselves secure and avoid fraud without the use of intermediaries. Bitcoin uses a proof-of-work validation model that takes up lots of resources, but it gets the job done. Due to the computations involved, it would take so much processing power for a bad actor to come along with false records. Unfortunately, while Bitcoin's Proof-of-Work consensus works, it is energy inefficient and has drawn lots of criticism. That's why new consensus methods such as Proof-of-Stake have come up.

With Proof-of-Stake, only those with a certain number of coins can validate a transaction. In other words, you need to have skin in the game as an incentive to keep off bad actors.

Solana is one of the blockchains taking the consensus game a notch higher by using Proof-of-History. Proof-of-history validation is an innovative approach to transaction processing that allows quick turnaround times. Solana integrated timestamps into its proof-of history validation model to process transactions quickly. This consensus method is so fast because it eliminates the need for every node staking SOL to validate a transaction.

Check Out: Solana (SOL) Price Prediction

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4. Solana Has Over 1000 Dapps Running On Top Of It

Ethereum has been around for a long time, and it still hosts the majority of decentralized applications. This could be due to developers' familiarity with Ethereum's platform or programming language. Simply put, they're used to working in this environment so naturally prefer using Ethereum over newer, more efficient blockchains.

That said, other networks are catching up, and Solana is one of those gaining the most traction. From a low of around 300 Dapps in 2021, Solana now has more than 1000 Dapps running on top of it, and the numbers are growing. They range from DeFi projects to NFTs. With both Decentralized Finance and NFTs on a growth trajectory, they could drive Solana's growth going forward.

5. SOL Has Gained By Over 10,900% Since Launch

Solana is a relatively new project when compared to the likes of Bitcoin and Ethereum. Solana flew under the radar for years, then rallied in 2021. As unbelievable as it looks, Solana went from a dollar in January 2021 to an all-time high of $260 in late 2021.

Solana is now trading at $24.3 and ranks the 11th largest cryptocurrency by market cap. It is also easily accessible on almost all top cryptocurrency exchanges.

6. Solana Is Designed To Allow For Hardware Optimization

The software that powers Solana allows hardware to operate at full capacity. This means scaling in tandem with bandwidth, GPUs, and SSDs. So far, no other major blockchain can do this, making Solana one of the most advanced in the market.

7. Solana Has Taken Its Challenges Head-on, And It's Working

In 2021, Solana faced two network outages. This is a challenge that relates to Solana's largely untested Proof-of-History consensus. However, the Solana team has worked hard to deal with these issues. Besides, as Proof-of-History becomes better understood and weaknesses identified, Solana outages could be a thing of the past.

What Now?

Cryptocurrencies are volatile and risky. If you are interested in Solana, be prepared for the ups and downs of the price. To be safe, it is best to take a pragmatic approach when investing in crypto. One way to do this is to ensure that cryptocurrencies don't take up more than 10% of your portfolio unless you are willing to shoulder the risk of extreme price movements.

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