—TechRound does not recommend any investment, crypto, trading or financial advice, practices or operators. All articles are purely informational—
Solana, an ambitious blockchain platform for speeding up decentralised applications, launched in March 2020. Solana’s ascent from an initial ground-breaking idea to becoming one of the ten largest cryptocurrencies by market size speaks volumes about its strategic approach in mitigating blockchain’s scalability issues.
Learning about Solana’s inception date and its underlying vision provides an insight into its fast growth and market standing.
The Solana Network Creation Story: Solving the Blockchain Trilemma
The narrative begins back in 2017 when Anatoly Yakovenko, who previously worked at Dropbox and Qualcomm as an engineer, came up with a whitepaper proposing Proof-of-History (PoH), an innovative consensus mechanism for maximising transaction ordering.
Yakovenko sought to solve blockchain’s trilemma: scalability, security, and decentralisation, by merging PoH with Proof-of-Stake (PoS). With Greg Fitzgerald and Raj Gokal, Yakovenko launched Solana Labs in 2018. What were they aiming for? A blockchain scalable to support thousands of transactions per second (TPS) at near-zero gas fees, in direct contrast to Ethereum’s congestion and expenses.
Early investors were able to purchase SOL tokens in private sales or exchange them for crypto exchange online platforms such as Xgram, soon to become hubs for Solana’s increasing community.
The Solana Launch: March 2020 and Beyond
The beta for Solana’s mainnet launched in March 2020, making its official entrance. Early adopters were invited to join in the Tour de SOL testnet, offering rewards to encourage developers to stress the chain. Its early emphasis was supporting DeFi protocols and smart contract support, landing it in an Ethereum rival position.
Major events of the initial period include:
- Distribution of tokens to investors at 37%, the team and foundation at 25%, and community reserves at 38%
- First significant funding round. A $20 million private token sale in 2018 led by Multicoin Capital
These developments set the stage for Solana’s explosive growth. With its emphasis on low fees and high transaction throughput, the platform welcomed developers who were dissatisfied with Ethereum’s constraints. Solana’s native token, SOL, found its way onto crypto exchange online platforms, allowing for effortless trading and staking.
Post-Launch Developmental Phases: Expansion Amidst Challenges
Post-launch, Solana’s market capitalisation skyrocketed from 0.5 billion in 2020 to 74 billion towards the end of 2021, fueled by its NFT explosion and collaboration with projects such as Degenerate Ape Academy.
Nevertheless, its network experienced glitches:
- Outages. Several outages in 2021–2022, among them a 17-hour shut down because of an overload of transactions
- Regulatory oversight. A 2022 class-action lawsuit for unregistered offering of securities and a 2023 SEC proceeding against SOL
- Market volatility. Sol’s price fell by 40% following the collapse of FTX but rose by 100% in early 2023
In spite of these obstacles, Solana grew its ecosystem through such moves as Solana Pay (Shopify-integrated) and the Solana Saga phone, focusing its efforts on mobile integration. These moves further emphasised Solana’s intention to bridge blockchain to practical use cases, from peer-to-peer transfers to in-store consumer payments.
So why did Solana Suddenly Get so Much Attention?
Solana’s rise can be attributed to:
- Proof-of-History. Supports 400 ms block times and 65,000 TPS, well beyond Ethereum
- Low fees. Charges have an average of $0.0025, perfect for microtransactions and NFT minting
- NFT mania. Such initiatives as Degenerate Ape Academy used Solana’s speed, drawing in collectors dodging Ethereum fees
- Strategic alliances. Partnerships with Visa and Worldpay for USDC payments have increased institutional credibility
This combination of timing and technology created Solana as one of the front runners in crypto’s bull run. Its capacity for supporting NFT marketplaces and DeFi platforms without slowing down extended its popularity among traders and developers.
The Future of Solana: Scaling Sustainably
Solana’s roadmap concentrates on:
- Validator diversity. Scaling customers such as Jito Labs and Firedancer to increase decentralisation
- Ethereum compatibility. Solang compiler enables Ethereum developers to port smart contracts to Solana
- Sustainability. A carbon-neutral platform with an energy footprint equal to Google searches per transaction
These efforts seek to solidify Solana’s position within the Solana ecosystem while rectifying earlier criticism. For instance, Jump Crypto’s Firedancer client seeks to make networks faster and more available, minimising risk of outages.
A Launch that Redefined Crypto
During its 2020 launch, Solana brought out a speed- and scalability-focused blockchain. Against all odds, its combination of Proof-of-History and crypto-friendly infrastructure cemented its status as an industry leader in the crypto bull run.
Now, Solana’s pace remains unbroken, attesting to its initial launch as not only a landmark but also an accelerator for transforming blockchain’s possibilities. Whether you’re investing in SOL or discovering NFTs, Solana’s ecosystem is still at the forefront of blockchain advancement.
—TechRound does not recommend any investment, crypto, trading or financial advice, practices or operators. All articles are purely informational—
