A smart contracts blockchain similar to Ethereum from Solana Labs. Launched in 2018, Solana is noted for its fast transaction processing. By 2022 with more than a thousand validators, Solana had processed over 64 billion transactions. Solana uses the proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus protocol along with its proprietary proof-of-history method that cryptographically time stamps every event.
The SOL is the native token, and Solana Beach is Solana's block explorer, which shows all activity in real time. Solanart is also a large NFT marketplace. Unfortunately, in 2021, several NFT projects were found to be scams with the developers disappearing after they collected funds.
Also unfortunate is the fact that the FTX/Alameda scandal has affected Solana because Alameda had purchased some 11% of SOL tokens. In addition, various DeFi projects on Solana were backed by FTX. See
FTX exchange.
The Saga Phone and Solana Mobile Stack
In 2022, Solana announced Saga, an Android-based smartphone from subsidiary Solana Mobile. Expected in 2023, the Saga phone uses the Solana Mobile Stack, which is an Android framework for developing Web3 wallets and applications. The software stack supports a secure Seed Vault for storing a user's private crypto keys. See
crypto glossary.