INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Solana, a blockchain network that launched in 2020, is being seen by many as a competitor to Ethereum
The cryptocurrency has grown about 16,000 percent since January
At the start of this year, one SOL cost $1.51 (roughly Rs
112) and Solana's market cap was around $86 million (roughly Rs
Today, it is trading around $241 (roughly Rs
17,900) and has gained a market capitalisation of $73 billion (roughly Rs
54 lakh crores), according to CoinMarketCap
This means people have invested heavily in the relatively new cryptocurrency that has become the sixth biggest by market capitalisation.1)
It has shown an extreme appetite to grow this year
A rise of 16,000 percent is stunning
One of the biggest factors that pushed Solanoa's value is that people want alternatives to Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency in
the world and hence working a congested network
Like Ethereum, Solana too offers smart contracts.3) Solana has great speed
It's one of the fastest-growing cryptocurrencies on the block, processing around 50,000 transactions per second (TPS), far greater than
Ethereum which does between 15 and 45 TPS currently.4) Bitcoin uses a proof-of-work validation model and some others use proof-of-stake
But Solana uses a proof-of-history model
Solana integrates timestamps into its proof-of-history validation model, which is how it is able to process transactions so quickly.5) A key
measure of the battle between Ethereum and its competitors is the number of projects running on each network
While Ethereum has the first-mover advantage, its competitors, including Solana, are catching up
Solana reportedly has over 350 projects in its ecosystem.Even if Solana has increased stunningly this year, cryptocurrency investments are
If it has gone up, it also carries the risk of going down quickly
Financial experts advise all potential investors to not have a cryptocurrency exposure of more than 5-10 percent of their overall
portfolio.(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a press release)
