Intro to Solana, Ethereum NFT disruptor? Infographic & Overview

Published in

MrBlock

3 min readMay 3, 2022

With the incredible recent success of the Okay Bears NFT, Solana (SOL) is fast becoming one of the most talked about networks in the blockchain space. But it has both crypto noobs and experienced folk alike asking: What is Solana, and why all the fuss?

Solana might seem like a new kid on the crypto block, but it was founded five years ago in 2017 by former Qualcomm engineer Anatoly Yakovenko. Looking to improve upon the existing Proof of Work and Proof of Stake algorithms, Yakovenko and his team developed what helps Solana stand out against its competitors: Proof of History.

Leveraging Proof of History allows the Solana network to process transactions at lightning fast speeds, and incredibly low costs. The average cost per transaction on Solana is $0.00025 SOL, and the network is reported to be capable of handling upwards of 65,000 transactions per second!

This efficiency in speed and cost, combined with its open-source nature, has developers and users alike flocking to Solana in droves. And while the current hype surrounding Solana may involve the NFT space, it can also be used to create blockchain gaming & decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, among others.

So why choose Solana over its main competitor, Ethereum?

If the seemingly endless wait for Ethereum 2.0 wasn’t enough to convince you, perhaps the near-instant transaction speeds (400ms block times?!) will. Or maybe the ridiculously low cost of transactions, compared to the wildly fluctuating and always frustrating gas prices when using ETH.
I, for one, am tired of waiting with fingers crossed at all times of the day and night in the hopes of cheaper gas…and so are a lot of other users, apparently!

Life isn’t perfect, however, and neither is Solana: the network has suffered from multiple instability issues and outages over the years, including a massive 48 hour outage in January of 2022. As interest continues to grow and waves of new users onboard onto the Solana ecosystem, many fear these outages will increase over time.

With that said, Solana is by no means the only network that has suffered from outages or congestion. It is also worth noting that as of the time of writing this article, Solana has yet to declare itself as free from the “beta” state of development either. This beta status may deter some from diving in, but for others this is an encouraging sign given how well Solana is operating already.

While certain users might see these hiccups as reason enough to steer clear of Solana, a rapidly growing number of users are seeing the incredible upside potential instead. And if the jaw-dropping success of NFT projects like the Degenerate Ape Academy and Okay Bears are any indication, that number will absolutely continue to increase.

Ethereum remains as the far more established and trusted entity in the blockchain realm…but it’s becoming more and more difficult to ignore the key features and advantages that Solana provides. Will Solana ever topple the giant that is Ethereum? Only time will tell…

Perspectives from @Z0mbear

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