Solana (SOL): how it works, supply and reviews
Layer 1 blockchain
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Key facts
- Ticker
- SOL
- Category
- Layer 1 blockchain
- Network
- own blockchain
- Official site
- solana.com
- Whitepaper
- solana.com/solana-whitepaper.pdf
- Source code
- github.com/solana-labs/solana
Data: CoinGecko, 2026-10-27. Only projects that still trade with meaningful volume are listed.
What is Solana
Solana is a public, high-performance blockchain for payments, tokens and decentralised applications. SOL is its native token, used to pay transaction fees and to stake with validators that secure the network.
Network and consensus
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | Layer-1 blockchain with its own validator network |
| Consensus | Proof of Stake: SOL holders delegate stake to validators, combined with Proof of History as a clock |
| Proof of History | A sequence of proofs that data existed before a point in time, used to order events and time slots |
| Launched | Mainnet Beta started on 16 March 2020 |
| Smart contracts | Yes; on-chain programs run as sBPF bytecode and are usually written in Rust (Anchor, Pinocchio or native Rust) |
| Smallest unit | 1 lamport = 0.000000001 SOL |
Supply and issuance
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Maximum supply | No fixed cap; new SOL is issued as staking rewards on a declining inflation schedule |
| Inflation | Started at 8% a year, falls by 15% each year, toward a long-term rate of 1.5% |
| Current inflation rate | About 3.58% a year in epoch 1069 (late October 2026), all paid to stakers and validators |
| Fee burn | Base fee is 5,000 lamports per signature; 50% of it is burned and 50% goes to the validator. Priority fees go fully to the validator |
On 28 October 2026: 589,874,439 SOL in circulation, 636,517,514 SOL in total (source: Solana mainnet public RPC (getSupply), values converted from lamports).
What SOL is used for
- Paying transaction fees on the network
- Staking: delegating SOL to validators to help secure the network and earn rewards
- Collateral posted by validators, who risk losing rewards and stake incentives if they misbehave
Who develops and governs Solana
- Founders
- Anatoly Yakovenko, author of the Solana whitepaper
- Foundation
- Solana Foundation, whose stated mission is to make the protocol as censorship-resistant as possible
- Developer
- Solana Labs developed the network up to Mainnet Beta; Anza maintains the Agave validator client
- Open source
- Yes; the Agave validator client is published on GitHub
History
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 16 March 2020 | Mainnet Beta launches from its genesis block. |
| 18 June 2020 | The network processes its one billionth transaction. |
| 2020 | By the end of 2020 the network has onboarded over 350 validators. |
Security and audits
- Validators stake SOL as collateral, which gives them an economic incentive to behave honestly.
- Solana does not currently slash validators' stake as a penalty.
Risks and caveats
- SOL has no maximum supply; new tokens are issued every epoch, so holders who do not stake are diluted.
- Staked SOL cannot be moved during the unstaking period, and rewards depend on the chosen validator's performance.
Official links
- Website: solana.com
- Docs: solana.com/docs
- Whitepaper: solana.com/solana-whitepaper.pdf
- Source code: github.com/anza-xyz/agave
- Block explorer: explorer.solana.com
- Foundation: solana.org
Questions and answers
What is Solana?
Solana is a high-performance public blockchain for payments, tokens and applications. SOL is its native token, used for fees and staking.
Who created Solana?
Solana was designed by Anatoly Yakovenko, who wrote its whitepaper, and was developed by Solana Labs; the Solana Foundation supports the network.
What is the maximum supply of SOL?
SOL has no fixed maximum supply. Inflation started at 8% a year and declines by 15% annually toward 1.5%; half of each base fee is burned.
How does Solana reach consensus?
Solana uses Proof of Stake, where SOL holders delegate stake to validators, together with Proof of History, a verifiable clock that orders transactions.
Sources
- CoinGecko — Solana
- Solana — What is Solana?
- Solana — What is Staking?
- Solana Docs — Terminology
- Solana Docs — Fees
- Solana Docs — Fee structure
- Solana Docs — Programs
- Solana whitepaper v0.8.13
- Solana Foundation — About
- Solana — May Newsletter (2020)
- Solana — June Newsletter (2020)
- Solana — Year in Review 2020
- Agave validator client (GitHub)
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