A Blockchain is a shared and immutable ledger that eases the process of recording transactions and tracking assets in a business network. The main aim of the blockchain is to share information amongst all parties.
The Blockchains store transaction information, and track the products and other data. The data on it is stored across the network of computers so it is nearly impossible to hack. Hence, it prevents fraud and unauthorized activity.
What is blockchain and what is the purpose of blockchain is clear now. In this article, we will also cover what is Solana and how it operates? Let us demystify Solana in this Comprehensive Guide.
Introduction to SOL Platform
It is a blockchain network founded by the Swiss Solana Foundation. This foundation is aimed at the development of the blockchain system. This blockchain network is interoperable and decentralized and engages with a bundle of extraordinary approaches including the proof of history.
Technical Overview: What type of Technology does Solana Uses?
It works on the combination of innovative technology of proof-of-history and proof-of-stake protocols. The reason for this combination of protocols is that this blockchain is trying to process lots of transactions quickly. The proof-of-history allows the blockchain nodes to validate the transactions simultaneously which enables faster transaction rates. The speed permits increased scalability since the environmental and monetary costs of this blockchain are lower.
The proof-of-stake mechanism consists of validators and clusters. The validators are the individual nodes that are the backbone of the network. Clusters are collections of validators that work together for consensus. It is a high-performance blockchain built for mass adoption and has a range of use cases like finance, NFTs, payments, and gaming.
The speed at which blockchains are added to this blockchain needs an additional security level. Hence here comes the role of proof-of-history algorithm. This algorithm arranges each block in such a way that maintains the system’s security. Thus, Solana technology is very advanced compared to other blockchains.
If the user cares for fast transactions and low cost then SOL is the best blockchain. The protocol has been tested up to 29,171 tps (transactions per second) and in 2.34 seconds processes one block whereas Ethereum performs 15 transactions per second and confirms one block in every 13 seconds.
Features of This Blockchain
It is the most advanced blockchain and it leads like a predecessor due to some enhanced features. The comprised features of this blockchain include
- Open Source Code: This means anyone can download the source code and execute it for commercial and personal use.
- Proof-of-stake: The SOL coins(native currency) are staked with validator nodes that run many internal processes to securely process transactions. This helps to process transactions faster. The staking algorithm also permits users to vote for changes in the blockchain suggested by the developer community.
- Proof-of-History: Proof-of-History is a consensus method that takes the time of the transaction and combines it with Proof of Stake to complete the transaction. SOL platform uses an integrated clock for the entire blockchain. The result is extremely fast transaction speeds with 50,000TPS.
- Layered Service: This blockchain uses many services on top of the network to improve efficiency. It is preferred for decentralized applications (Dapps) and decentralized financial institutions(DeFis).
- Horizontal Scaling: This blockchain allows the addition of more computers to its processing network to distribute computing resources. Tasks are completed by several computers running in parallel.
- Turbine Protocol: In this blockchain the validation of the transaction is faster. The reason behind this is the Turbine protocol which is used to transmit information in smaller pockets to nearby node clusters known as neighborhoods.
ຜົນປະໂຫຍດຂອງ Solana that Make it Different from Other Blockchains
Some notable benefits of this blockchain include improved security and privacy, reduced costs, decentralized structure, trust, enhanced speed, visibility and traceability, immutability, etc.
- Interoperability: It has a layered architecture that makes it interoperable with other applications and blockchains.
- High transaction speed and scalability: The blockchain can perform transactions at a very fast speed. This makes it as organized as VISA and Mastercard. It can also handle high network traffic volumes. Solana tokenomics behind SOL revolves around scalability.
- High censorship resistance: Censorship stops users from adding new blocks to the blockchain. This blockchain is crafted to limit censorship through its rotating validator nodes. For each validator, a smart algorithm calculates the minimum number of nodes needed to be compromised to censor the network.
Real-World Applications of the Blockchain and its Development
There are many use cases of this blockchain. It is the base of many projects due to its scalability and flexibility. Developers’ creativity in this blockchain has increased its use cases. Some of its use cases are DeFis, NFT applications, lending protocols, games Web3 apps, etc.
New systems have been created by some developers that allow users to deposit or lend currencies over the SOL platform. Users can earn interest or lend currencies. The blockchain is also used to create NFT applications that facilitate users to mint and trade digital artwork. It is also the base for games like Play to Earn (P2E).
The blockchain is designed particularly for dApps. Thus, making it ideal for creating innovative projects by allowing developers to build and position dApps quickly and efficiently. Rust programming language is used as the base of Solana blockchain development. This is a memory-efficient programming language that can easily integrate with other programming languages. This language enables the smooth engineering of the blockchain.
Community and Future Outlook
The SOL platform community consists of developers, validators, token holders, and members who support the protocol. The blockchain has a vast following on different social media accounts.
On Telegram, they have 85,032 members, and X social media has a following of nearly 2,263,994 members. YouTube has more than 39.2K subscribers and Reddit also has more than 162,698 subscribers. On Discord they have nearly 44,556 members.
The blockchain has 88 institutional investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Multicoin Capital, and Polychain. The ecosystem is performing well enough and thus shows a promising future.
Summary
Solana uses advanced technology and offers very fast, scalable solutions that facilitate traders and developers to provide a great variety of services to the people. Its transaction speed is much higher as compared to Ethereum and Bitcoin. The blockchain’s ecosystem has been performing relatively well.
Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2023/10/16/solana-the-blockchain-with-advanced-features-and-technology/