Besides being a tradable, digital asset, both Solana and Ethereum serve the same purpose — to help developers build decentralized apps by using the power of blockchain technology.
Ethereum has been one of the market leaders and the second most popular cryptocurrency for a long time.
It is based on the Proof-Of-Work protocol, which will be changed to Proof-Of-Stake (PoS) in 2024, according to the officials.
As of April 2024, ETH’s market cap is $368 billion, and it is priced as high as $3,100.
The coin has shown a bullish tendency since 2020, and its historical maximum is $4,891.70.
Solana is currently the seventh most popular cryptocurrency based on market cap and will likely remain in the top 10 for a long time.
It uses a slightly different consensus mechanism called Proof-of-History (PoH) combined with the underlined PoS mechanism.
As of April 2024, SOL’s market cap is about $33 billion, and its price is $106 per coin.
SOL is currently in a neutral market position, and its historical maximum is $260.06.
Thousands of crypto traders swap Solana to ETH and vice versa daily, meaning the two cryptocurrencies are a popular trading pair.
Let’s briefly overview Solana’s main features and what makes it stand out from the crowd.
Finally, we’ll compare it to ETH and discuss the rivalry between the two.
What Particularities Does Solana Have and What Makes It Different from Other Cryptocurrencies?
What makes Solana a unicorn in the crypto world is its unique consensus mechanism developed by Anatoly Yakovenko.
The Proof-of-History protocol is based on assigning a block a unique timestamp.
Such a measure ensures better scalability and extra security overall, which results in higher SOL usability.
Since the protocol is combined with PoS, Solana can offer fast transaction processing and rapid execution of smart contracts.
To compare, Solana ensures 65,000 transactions per second (TPS) and 1 second block time, while Ethereum handles only 30 TPS and one block per 15 seconds.
As a bonus, Solana offers one of the most affordable transaction fees due to its unique operating mechanism.
Buy Solana: 3 Reasons to Believe in This Crypto
The initial SOL offering was held in 2017, and the token was officially launched in 2020.
In a short period, it managed to become one of the essential crypto/blockchain projects in the world.
Solana is also often traded on all kinds of centralized and decentralized anonymous crypto exchange platforms.
Solana is trusted by many investors, and here are the three main reasons for that.
Solana Buyers Can Earn Additional Rewards by Staking
As mentioned above, one part of the consensus mechanism on Solana is based on the Proof-of-Stake protocol.
It means that you need to purchase a certain amount of SOL to become a validator.
However, even if you don’t have enough SOL, you can delegate your funds to a validator.
This way, you will partake in a shared-risk/reward deal in which you earn a percentage of the supported validator’s rewards.
Solana Has Strong Community Support
Many individuals and organizations are big supporters of Solana.
They firmly believe it has the potential to become even more successful in the future.
The community actively works on promoting Solana, and the team behind it works even harder.
One example of solid support is the Solana hackathon, which took place from August to October 2021 and was successful.
It additionally promoted the project to crypto enthusiasts.
Solana also received big support from FTX, a popular cryptocurrency exchange.
Solana Is Not an “Ethereum Killer”
Many projects that have the same goal as Ethereum are labeled as Ethereum killers since people believe that the upgraded versions of Ethereum are better than the original.
But Raj Gokal, one of the co-founders of Solana Labs, doesn’t want Solana to be perceived that way.
He stated that Ethereum is a “beautiful force of good in the world” and that all projects should contribute to building Web 3.
Yakovenko, CEO of Solana, also doesn’t see Solana as the “Ethereum killer.”.
Still, he believes the technologies behind projects, such as Solana and Ethereum, are drivers of global changes.
Conclusion
Ethereum is a more popular investment choice at the moment and a more expensive asset.
But it’s safe to say that Solana is no worse since it uses a more sophisticated technology for processing transactions.
There’s also a growing community, and Solana’s creators want to focus on technology rather than overtaking Ethereum’s popularity.
So, Solana is solid crypto and can be a better investment opportunity overall, but it is not an Ethereum killer.