What is Solana (SOL)?

Solana is a highly functional open source project that uses permissionless blockchain technology to provide decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions. While the idea and initial work on the project began in 2017, Solana was officially launched in March 2020 by the Geneva, Switzerland-based Solana Foundation.

The Solana protocol is designed to facilitate the creation of decentralized applications (DApps). It aims to improve scalability by introducing proof-of-history (PoH) consensus combined with blockchain's underlying proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus.

Who are the founders of Solana?

Anatoly Yakovenko is the most important person behind Solana. His professional career began at Qualcomm, where he quickly moved up the ranks, becoming a Senior Staff Engineer in 2015. Later, his career path shifted and Yakovenko entered a new position as a software engineer at Dropbox.

In 2017, Yakovenko began working on a project that later materialized as Solana. He teamed up with his colleague at Qualcomm, Greg Fitzgerald, and they started a project called Solana Labs. The Solana protocol and SOL token went public in 2020, having attracted several other former colleagues from Qualcomm.

What makes Solana unique?

One of the major innovations that Solana brings is the proof-of-history (PoH) consensus developed by Anatoly Yakovenko. This concept allows for greater scalability of the protocol, which in turn increases usability.

Solana is known in the cryptocurrency space for the incredibly short processing times that blockchain offers. The hybrid Solana protocol makes it possible to significantly reduce the verification time for both transactions and the implementation of smart contracts. Thanks to lightning-fast processing times, Solana has also attracted a lot of interest from institutions.

The Solana protocol is intended for both small users and enterprise customers. One of Solana's main promises to customers is that they won't be surprised by increased fees and taxes. The protocol is designed to have low transaction costs while guaranteeing scalability and fast processing.