Solana blockchain is one of the fierce and serious competitors of Ethereum, which can process 50-60 transactions per second. This network can be of various types NFT, Smart contracts And Decentralized applications It supports and provides various services to users of the blockchain world. Now this blockchain network, which provides its security by staking or depositing, with its own digital currency, i.e. SOL It has created a lot of buzz in the cryptocurrency world. If you want to learn more about Solana blockchain features and what is Solana currency? Stay with us by continuing this article.
What is the Solana Blockchain?
Solana is one of the famous blockchain networks that includes more than 400 different projects such as games, NFT programs, etc. This network gives users the possibility of staking with its own digital currency, SOL, and provides its strength and security with this method.
Maybe if you have read about Solana blockchain on the internet, you have also seen the name SPL, which stands for Solana Program Library It means Solana program library. According to this token writing standard, there are certain rules and regulations for creating tokens on the Solana network platform that must be adhered to.
Solana network history
Over the years, the Solana network underwent many changes and improvements, and we are going to review this network from the beginning until today:
Solana in 2018
- This network was launched this year as a test and with one node, and its white paper was also available to users.
- After some time Solana’s private network was launched with several nodes
- The release of a software development kit for payments and smart contracts
Solana in 2019
- Release of programs that were on the chain
- Engine supply for smart contracts
- Running the Move machine
- Provision of cloud test network
- Incentive trial network supply
Solana in 2020
- The release of the beta version of the main network
- Setting up the main network
- Update on the main network of the beta version
- JSON RPC API update
- Providing special features for smart contracts
- Listing on the Baines exchange
How the Solana blockchain works
Solana blockchain network based on the protocol Poh which stands for Proof of History and means proof of history, works and this protocol is also known as a part of the PoS protocol or proof of stake. In this protocol, you can see the time tags of Solana blockchain transactions, and for this reason, market participants have named it Decentralized Clock or decentralized time source.
The time to create a block in the Solana blockchain is longer than that of Ethereum and less than that of Bitcoin. In fact, this blockchain adds a new block to its network every 400 milliseconds, which Ethereum does in 15 seconds and Bitcoin in 10 minutes.
Solana network tries to create a secure and encrypted time source and eliminate the problem of time and sequence of events by means of PoH protocol. The outputs of the PoH algorithm are reliable and this algorithm is evaluated by passing through several specific steps. In the Solana blockchain, there are also validator nodes that are based on the SHA256 algorithm and encrypt the passage of time.
The process of processing transactions in other blockchains such as Bitcoin or Ethereum is based on the most profitable transactions, that is, the miner first processes transactions that bring more profit to the user. Miners actually do this based on the old “PoW” or Proof of Work algorithm. But in the Solana blockchain, the process is a little different.
Solana’s PoH algorithm works just like a stopwatch. To better understand this, remember the sprints where the finish time is when the runners cross the finish line. Modeling this event, PoH tries to record each transaction at the same time, which will result in sequential processing of transactions back-to-back. The order in the PoH algorithm is reliable for the nodes, and that’s why they create the next nodes without being coordinated with the entire network.
Unreliable sources have spread various rumors about the Solana blockchain, one of which is the operation of this network based on an algorithm DPoS Is. This algorithm stands for Delegated Proof of Stake and means Proxy share proof consensus mechanism Is. One of the reasons for rejecting this issue is that each of the nodes in the Solana network has specific roles, for example, some work as leaders, some as verifiers, and some as filers, but in the DPoS algorithm, these tasks are not the responsibility of the nodes. And those who participate in the network are responsible for these responsibilities. Therefore, since in the Solana network, each node can take on a different task, the issue we talked about is rejected.
In Solana blockchain, in order to have an influential presence in the network as a node, you do not need a minimum amount of stake, and this approach is completely different from other networks that are based on proof of stake. How much you staked your cryptocurrencies in the Solana network has a direct impact on turning you into a node leader. But also consider that in this blockchain, the selection of leaders is done completely randomly. In this mechanism, the stakes of nodes that cause problems will be reduced and the rewards of blocks will be increased.
Solana network cluster
For users of the Solana blockchain network, the word cluster is not a stranger because it is one of the boldest terms in this blockchain and has a practical and important role in it. In fact, a cluster is a package of computers that are connected and work together. If you look at the cluster from the outside, you will notice that it looks like a single system. By means of the cluster, the integrity of the ledger can be stabilized and the client transactions can also be published. A cluster causes the output of programs submitted by users to be validated. Clusters are also responsible for real-world asset ownership detection.
Solana’s innovative blockchain infrastructure
In the Solana network, there are some innovative infrastructures that we would like to introduce and explain about.
Tower BFT
This algorithm is very similar to the PBFT algorithm or Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance. The difference between Tower BFT algorithm and PBFT is its unstable performance. The nodes of this network can calculate the validator based on specific conditions.
Turbine
The Solana blockchain has a special method of publishing blocks, which is called Turbine, and this technique is borrowed from BitTorrent. In this way, the new blocks will be divided into smaller packets and distributed in a group of nodes. In every 200 packages, it is possible to cover 40 thousand validators.
Gulf Stream
It is one of the terms of the cryptocurrency world and its management in the Solana network is not the responsibility of chains. With the help of Mempool, validators can execute transactions earlier than necessary and their approval time is also reduced.
Sea level
Sealevel mechanism is used in SSD and GPU cards, which are used for horizontal scaling. This processing engine makes the execution time in the Solana blockchain more efficient and also enables the conditions for transactions to be executed simultaneously in blockchains similar to Solana.
Pipelining
Pipelining is a process whereby some incoming data is assigned to responsible hardware. Through this process, the transaction information is confirmed very quickly in all nodes.
Cloudbreak
The Cloudbreak process and mechanism helps the Solana network achieve the required scalability. This network is optimized to read and write data structures across the entire network.
Archivers
Archivers are used in the Solana network to store data. Archivers are actually a network of nodes to which validators import data.
SOL digital currency on the Solana blockchain
Solana digital currency (SOL) is known as the native coin of Solana blockchain, and as we said, by means of this currency, Solana can enable the staking process for users and thus increase its power and security. This digital currency is used to execute smart contracts or make transactions. Also, various programs and applications operate on the Solana platform, in which SOL currency is also used. For example, in the Chainvote program, you can participate in voting or governance of the program by means of SOL.
According to the news and reports about the Solana blockchain and its digital currency, its annual inflation rate is 8%, and the support team claimed that it will decrease by 15% every year.
SOL digital currency is distributed and made available to cryptocurrency market users in the following way:
- 16.23% of the total supply of this currency is allocated to users in the initial sale stage (Seed Sale).
- 12.92% of the total supply of this currency has been provided to the initial investors (Founding Sale Investoes).
- Validators have taken 5.08% of this currency
- Strategic investors have received 1.88% of this digital currency
- 1.64% was assigned to the CoinList auction
- Team members have received 12.79% of SOL coins
- Solana Foundation has received 10.46% of this coin
- The community managed by Solana Foundation has taken over 38.89% of this currency
Advantages and challenges of Solana network
In the following, we discuss the most important advantages and challenges facing the Solana network:
- High speed
- Scalability
- Staking and receiving rewards
- high security
- Low fee (that’s right)
- Fewer projects than Ethereum
- High cost to set up good hardware
Comparing Solana with Ethereum
The consensus mechanism in Solana and Ethereum networks is different, and Ethereum works with PoW mechanism and Solana works with PoH mechanism. Although Ethereum network has advantages over Solana network in terms of decentralization, Solana network is better than Ethereum in terms of speed.
Introducing the Solana network team
Many famous people are working in the support team of Solana blockchain network, we will list some of them below and explain about them:
- Anatoly Yakovenko: He launched the Solana network in 2017 and was able to register patents in the field of high-level operating system protocol.
- Eric Williams: Eric works in Solana’s blockchain economics department and received a PhD in particle physics from Berkeley University.
- Greg Fitzgerald: Greg Fitzgerald works as the senior manager of the Solana network and has a lot of knowledge about embedded systems, so he has contributed a lot to the development and growth of the Solana blockchain network.
The future of Solana currency
What is the future of Solana currency? The future of the Solana digital currency itself needs separate reviews, which we have scrutinized in an article called the future of this digital currency and examined it from different aspects. Unfortunately, this digital currency has experienced many unpleasant events such as hacking or the fall in the value of assets, all of which can affect its future. If you intend to analyze Solana and buy it, be sure to read this article before doing so.
SOLANA successful blockchain network
Currently, Solana blockchain is among the most successful and best blockchain networks, which we have discussed in full in this article and reviewed its various features for you. Now you know how this network works and what its digital currency called SOL is and what its uses are. The good news is that you can buy Solana on the Valax website and earn a lot of profit by trading it.
Written by Solana Blockchain, introducing and getting to know the Solana Blockchain Network for the first time on Wallex Blog. appeared.
