Solana is a one-of-a-kind blockchain that came into being in 2017 aimed at enhancing the development of decentralized and scalable applications. It stands out from other well-established projects with fast transaction speeds while also boasting lower fees.
The fast execution speeds and lower fees have always seen Solana dubbed the ‘Ethereum Killer’ in the development of decentralized applications. Its ability to process up to 50,000 transactions a second compared to just 15 for Ethereum all but affirms its competitive edge.
Powered by the proof-of-stake consensus and proof-of-history consensus mechanism, Solana offers developers an ecosystem for coming up with applications at some of the lowest costs. Security and scalability are factors that continue to attract developers to the platform.
Consequently, it does not come as a surprise that a number of big projects are already built on the Solana blockchain to take advantage of its synergies. Some of the projects are discussed below.
Serum
In an era where people are increasingly looking for ways to move from centralized exchanges, Serum appears to have carved a niche for itself. Thanks to its fast transaction speeds and low fees, the non-custodial decentralized exchange built on top of the Solana blockchain is already proving to be a hit.
The Solana-powered decentralized exchange is the only one in the industry running on an on-chain central limit order book. It also boasts of a matching engine while supporting cross-chain asset swaps. The exchange came into being as a brainchild of Alameda Research and other developers with the sole aim of addressing high gas costs and slow transactions often associated with decentralized finance (DeFi).
SRM is a Serum native token that acts as a medium of payment on the exchange. The token is also used to award traders discounts while also granting them voting rights on key decisions on the project’s development. By staking a sufficient amount of SRM tokens, one can participate in decision-making on the course of the project.
Raydium
Solana’s growing popularity does not stop with powering decentralized exchange. Instead, it is also home to an automated market maker. Raydium is a decentralized finance project that offers a wide range of services, including Trade Yield Pool and AcceleRaytr.
Taking advantage of the Solana blockchain, Raydium has enabled faster and cheaper transactions compared to other DeFi projects built on top of the Ethereum blockchain. However, the platform has not enabled trading as it does not operate a decentralized exchange. Instead, trades occur on the Serum whenever people are using Raydium swap and trade features.
Some of the benefits of trading on Serum via Raydium are that one gets to enjoy all the futures of centralized exchanges while also enjoying all the attributes of decentralization. Some of the futures offered include order books, charting, and limit orders.
Maps.me
Maps.me is not a new project but one that, over the years, has allowed people to access offline and online maps using OpenStreetMap data. Its user base has grown to over 140 million users following the integration of decentralized finance features powered by the Solana blockchain.
The integration has allowed the mapping app to offer travel rewards discounts and even governance features. The fact that the app is commonly used while people are traveling has also seen it start offering new features aimed at enhancing the traveling experience. Some of the new features include a crypto wallet for enabling payments, fund transfers, and even asset management.
Maps.me also comes with a Maps token that generates holders’ earnings through transaction fees and advertising earnings. For instance, whenever merchants advertise on the platform, the token holders are entitled to some earnings from fees generated from the advertising campaigns.
Audius
Solana does not stop at powering decentralized exchange. Instead, its blockchain is also finding great use in the content streaming business. Audius is the decentralized streaming platform for music often referred to as a ‘Spotify killer.’
Running on top of the Solana blockchain, the platform leverages the social media style allowing people to post music and gain an audience. The Solana-powered streaming network already boasts over 6 million unique users every month, affirming its growth in the music streaming business.
Audius, which started on the Ethereum blockchain, had to make the big switch when faced with the need for scaling to address a growing user base and avoid network congestion. Solana’s low gas fees and speed proved to be a game-changer for the streaming platform upon making the big switch.
Audius has succeeded in getting musicians to list their content on the network thanks to its unique payment model that allows for a one-time subscription fee or both.
Media Network
Media Network is another project making a name for it by leveraging the Solana blockchain in the content distribution business. The peer-to-peer content delivery network (CDN) is a privacy-first and community governed CDN that allows people to space their infrastructure within seconds.
Media Network works by delivering content from databases to other users much faster and with better quality. It is also a consumer platform whereby anyone can start streaming content from the network. Governing the CDN is a Media token that is used to finance transactions on the network.
Final thoughts
Fast transaction speeds at the lowest costs are some of the reasons Solana stands out as one of the best blockchains for powering decentralized applications. As one of the most successful blockchains, Solana has ended up attracting more than 350 projects, many of which are dedicated to decentralized finance, non-fungible tokens, and Web 3.0.
The blockchain has already started attracting some of the world’s largest digital currency asset managers resulting in the launch of Sola Trust. The value of the network’s underlying token also soared by more than 15,000% in value last year, affirming its increased adoption and use.
