Basic Information about Solana Lesson

Focus mode

Solana Fundamentals

About Solana

Solana & Smart Contract Fundamentals

Use cases

Getting Started with Solana Development

Basic Information about Solana

The Solana Foundation is based in Geneva, Switzerland and maintains the open source project. It was founded in 2017 by Anatoly Yakovenko and aims to improve scalability while keeping costs low.

In the video above, Humphrey Yang explains fundamentals of Solana; and here is a summary: Solana implements a hybrid consensus model that combines proof-of-history (PoH) and proof-of-stake (PoS). PoH works in tandem with PoS and is used to cryptographically verify the passage of time between two events. Because of this, it's theoretically possible to process 710,000 transactions per second on a standard gigabit network without any scaling solutions needed. Solana consensus uses leader nodes chosen based on the PoS mechanism that sequences messages between nodes. So it can verify transactions more quickly without the need to verify more nodes and transactions and timestamps.

Usually, validators are nodes that perform validations within the Proof of Stake algorithm. Solana validators participate in the consensus and consider proof-of-stake verification times as well as proof-of-stake verification times when processing transactions. The transaction and time are compared with the central blockchain, and if verified, the transaction is committed to the blockchain. Solana is able to provide fast confirmations thanks to this hybrid method. However, since Solana is compared with the central block for validation, there are concerns that it is not fully decentralized and there are discussions about this issue on various platforms.

If you are interested, you can find further information about Solana’s innovations here: https://messari.io/asset/solana/profile/technology

You can also find more information about Proof of History here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rywOYfGu4EA

With online purchases, it takes a long time for sellers to get their money through both centralized and decentralized applications. Due to the speed Solana provides, it facilitates the work of online businesses as well. Also, Solana provides less costly transactions for them. Solana’s website shows each transaction costs ~$0,00025. Considering that $0,8 is paid for each Ethereum transaction and $1 is paid for each Bitcoin transaction, we can see how less costly it is.

EVM compatibility

When it comes to Solana fundamentals, you will most likely come across sources that say Solana is not EVM compatible. Let's see what this means:

Ethereum is the blockchain network with the largest market capitalization after Bitcoin. It enables developers to build their own tokens and decentralized applications (dApps) using smart contracts. While the transactions you can do with the Bitcoin system are limited, you can produce new systems and new altcoins using Ethereum. Many cryptocurrencies use the Ethereum system as infrastructure like BNB, Fantom, Avalanche, Cardano, Polygon, HECO etc. They’re able to do this because of the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM); so, they’re called ‘EVM compatible blockchains’.

Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) is a blockchain based computation engine that ensures the secure operation of thousands of nodes in the Ethereum network. EVM is the environment where all Ethereum accounts and smart contracts live. A metaphor from Messari analyst Ryan Watkins says that you can think of EVM as an Android operating system. A phone using Android can run some of your favorite apps.

Using EVM, Ethereum developers can deploy protocols on new chains easily and quickly without starting from scratch. Projects in the network have easier access to all EVM compatible chain users. However, because of Ethereum and EVM rules, EVM compatible blockchains are less innovative than non-EVM blockchains. Being more open to innovation provides a more flexible playing field for non-EVM blockchains to grow in trending categories and create niche fields where new ideas emerge (e.g. GameFi).

Solana network is not EVM compatible. However, non-EVM chains like Solana make EVM-compatible solutions that enable Solana developers to deploy Solana dApps and transactions on the Ether network. These solutions provides EVM’s advantages to Solana dApps.

Solana offers a different smart contract model to traditional EVM-based blockchains. There is a logical separation between state (computes) and contract logics (programs). In EVM-based chains, a distributed single contract on the blockchain has code/logic and state. On the other hand, Solana smart contract is read-only or stateless and contains only program logic. After deployment, smart contracts can be interacted with external accounts and they can store data about program interaction. Solana accounts, unlike accounts on Ethereum, can store data (including wallet information) that reference people's wallets.