A Solana ETF is a type of exchange-traded fund that offers a way for investors to gain exposure to the Solana ecosystem without directly owning SOL tokens.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) 

) on Jan 10, 2024 electrified the cryptocurrency community, 

. This landmark decision has opened the floodgates for speculation about the introduction of spot ETFs for other leading cryptocurrencies. Several issuers have already 

, a rising star in the blockchain arena, could also be a prime candidate for its own spot ETF. This article examines the feasibility of a Solana Spot ETF in the wake of Bitcoin’s ETF success. Explore the potential of a Solana Spot ETF while considering the lessons learned from Bitcoin’s ETF journey and the unique aspects of Solana’s blockchain technology that could influence its own spot ETF approval.

A Solana ETF is a type of exchange-traded fund that tracks the price of Solana's native cryptocurrency, SOL, offering a way for investors to gain exposure to the Solana ecosystem without directly owning SOL tokens.

A Solana ETF, if approved, would function as a regulated investment fund that follows the price of Solana’s native token, SOL, by directly holding these tokens in its underlying basket. The ETF would be traded on stock exchanges, so investors could buy and sell shares of the fund, just as they would with stocks. The value of the ETF shares would fluctuate with the market price of SOL tokens, providing investors with exposure to Solana’s performance without the need to directly purchase or store the cryptocurrency.

The mechanics of a Solana ETF would involve several key components:

The establishment of a Solana ETF would depend upon regulatory approval. This requires the ETF issuer to demonstrate that the fund meets all legal and regulatory standards, including those related to investor protection and market integrity. The SEC’s stance on cryptocurrency ETFs has been cautious, but the recent approval of Bitcoin Spot ETFs has set a precedent that could pave the way for other cryptocurrencies such as Solana.

The current landscape of Solana ETFs is filled with anticipation and a few options for those eager to get in. While there aren't any official Solana ETFs approved yet in the U.S., there's a lot of talk about the possibility. People are particularly hopeful following the SEC's approval of Bitcoin Spot ETFs, whose funds directly hold BTC.

Although the exact timeline for approval remains uncertain, experts believe that Solana could hit the crypto spot ETF market in 2024. They're keeping a close eye on the SEC's decision regarding potential Ethereum Spot ETFs, 

, which could set a precedent for Solana ETFs.

In the meantime, investors looking to get a piece of the Solana action can turn to products such as 

 (VSOL), which are available in certain regions. In Canada, 

 is getting ready to launch a Solana Spot ETF, which could be the first of its kind in North America.

The excitement around Solana ETFs comes from the blockchain's increasing adoption, its technological advancements and its attractiveness as an investment. Nevertheless, getting ETF approval is anything but straightforward, as the market needs clear structures to support them and there are numerous regulatory hoops to jump through.

Still, with the growing interest in crypto ETFs, there's a reasonable chance of Solana ETFs becoming a reality soon. When they do, they'll offer investors a new way to tap into Solana’s exciting blockchain platform.

Chances of Solana ETF Applications Being Approved

As mentioned above, approval for Solana ETFs depends upon a few key factors, including the regulatory landscape. Right now, it seems like getting the green light for a Solana ETF in the U.S. might be a long shot. Tellingly, no company has yet applied for one to the SEC.

Instead, all eyes are on Ethereum. Several companies, including big names like Franklin Templeton and 

s. The SEC is expected to decide on these applications this year, a decision that could hold sway over the fate of Solana ETFs.

However, there's a twist: The SEC sees Bitcoin differently because of its 

 (PoW) consensus mechanism, whereas Ethereum and Solana are both 

 blockchains, making approval trickier. The SEC is still investigating whether Ether (ETH) is a security, which would open up additional compliance requirements for the asset.

 because it aims to play a similar role in the blockchain world. It boasts compelling features, such as fast transactions and low fees. Therefore, if Ethereum gets the thumbs-up, it may bode well for Solana, too. The anticipation is that if a Solana ETF gets the go-ahead, it could see a wave of inflows, much as Bitcoin did.

What Will It Mean If a Solana ETF Application Is Approved?

If a Solana ETF application were approved, it would mark a significant moment for the crypto world, especially for Solana itself. 

Investors would gain the ability to effectively buy Solana's token, SOL, through a regulated investment product traded on stock exchanges. This could bring more liquidity into Solana, make its token easier to access and provide some regulatory clarity — all of which could attract larger institutional investors.

Looking at the impact of Bitcoin ETFs on the crypto market, we could see a similar rush of mainstream adoption if a Solana ETF were to be approved. Being able to invest in Solana from a typical retail or institutional brokerage account would open the door for larger inflows.

However, since the SEC is still trying to determine whether Ether is a security, it will almost certainly have ruled on this issue before approving a Solana ETF. 

The SEC's January 2024 approval of Bitcoin Spot ETFs has sparked excitement over the potential for a Solana ETF, a possibility that could make investing in the SOL token more accessible for everyone. Although no applications are in the U.S. pipeline yet, the anticipation in the industry is undeniable. Approval would mark a major milestone, with an impact potentially similar to that of Bitcoin's Spot ETF approvals — and the promise of bringing more institutional players into the cryptocurrency market.

Intermediate

solana_etf.png

Solana ETF: The Next Contender After BTC and ETH Spot ETFs

Tensor (TNSR) is revolutionizing Solana's NFT trading infrastructure with innovative features and a community-focused model, becoming the second-largest NFT marketplace on Solana.

Tensor, an NFT marketplace built on Solana (

), created quite a buzz after the Tensor Foundation announced that rewards worth over $200 million for its season one, two and three airdrops were available for claim.

, TNSR, which generated over $640 million in trading volume within seven hours or so of its launch.

Such success is synonymous with the incredible performance of various projects within the Solana ecosystem, especially 

 that have raked in millions of dollars in trading volume upon launch.

So, what’s the hype around Tensor, and what does it bring to the crypto space?

Tensor is an on-chain marketplace built on Solana whose traders and creators can buy, sell and trade 

Tensor is the second largest Solana NFT marketplace after 

NFT enthusiasts can easily and conveniently 

 and manage their assets with Tensor’s innovative platform. Tensor has adopted a similar rewards model as 

), whereby users receive tokens distributed through 

Launched in July 2022, Tensor was created to offer traders deep liquidity and swift transactions for NFT trading, along with the opportunity to earn rewards.

The project carried out its first season of airdrops in September 2022, followed by a second season in March 2023, attracting a considerable number of participants. During the second season, activity on the platform briefly surpassed that of Magic Eden, as users increased activity while targeting the rewards.

NFT creators can also use the platform to add or remove NFT mints, and even to change the descriptions of the NFTs they’ve created. The platform also has a launchpad for Solana NFTs, such as pNFTs and compressed NFTs.

Tensor supports its creators through enforced royalties, whereby the buyer (taker) pays the royalties, a marketplace fee and the listed price. However, a collection can include optional royalties so the buyer can choose the rate of royalty they wish to pay.

 NFT collection, which consists of 10,000 NFTs that target Tensor’s die-hard community. By becoming a Tensorian NFT holder, you unlock various benefits, such as 

, becoming part of the Tensor community, and receiving rewards and exclusive merchandise. 

Following are the key features that are part of building the NFT infrastructure on Tensor.

Tensor AMM (also known as TensorSwap) is Tensor’s automated NFT marketplace, where trading NFTs is automated and has advanced order types. Think of it as an automated market maker (

), like those used in DeFi, but for NFTs instead of fungible tokens.

Unlike traditional NFT marketplaces, such as Magic Eden or 

, TensorSwap allows you to get paid. You can configure your maker fees and earn rewards for activities on the platform, especially setting orders. Best of all, you get to keep all the fees from your completed market orders. Additionally, TensorSwap helps to auto-manage your NFT portfolio by making sure you buy low and sell high in order to counteract emotionally charged trading.

Tensor Price Lock is an innovative feature that lets you 

 NFT prices by locking them in for seven days. When using this feature, you can be a taker (the one who buys a price lock) or a maker (the one who funds the price lock). Introduced on Jan 22, 2024, this feature allows those who fund price locks (in a similar way as liquidity providers in DeFi) to earn Tensor rewards from their NFTs.

Shared escrow is an innovative feature on Tensor that provides you with a capital-efficient way to bid for NFTs. You can place multiple bids, such as collection bids and trait bids, using the same pool of SOL tokens.

In order for the bid to remain fillable, you need to ensure that it’s less than or equal to the balance available on your shared escrow account. You can also activate purchase caps to set limits to the number of NFTs a particular order buys, protecting your shared escrow balance from being depleted.

YOLO Buy is a feature that lets you bid on your favorite NFT by placing a nonrefundable fee, which is a percentage of the listed fee. By placing more bids, you stand a better chance of winning the NFT, with up to 75% odds. The winner is determined through a free spin, whereby even those who lose the bid receive Tensor rewards. When an NFT is purchased through YOLO Buy, the maker (person who listed the NFT) receives 1.5% more from the purchase.

TNSR is Tensor's governance token, used to empower the community that manages key protocols on the platform. By holding TNSR, you can vote on various proposals, including those in the Tensor DAO that governs the proposal process. As a TNSR token holder, you also receive discounts on the platform, such as fees reduced by 25% if you list an NFT using TNSR.

TNSR has a total supply of 1 billion tokens. As with BLUR’s tokenomics, most of its total supply has been reserved for the community to power the airdrops program. The TNSR token allocation is as shown below:

You can buy Tensor on Bybit through its Spot trading platform as a 

 Spot trading pair, or on Bybit’s Derivatives platform as a USDT Perpetual contract (

 was $0.86, a 61.3% drop from its ATH of $2.23 on Apr 8, 2024, and an 15.8% increase from its ATL of $0.74 on May 1, 2024.

Price prediction experts are quite bullish on the future for TNSR. According to CoinCodex, TNSR’s price 

, though it sees a slight reduction to a high of $3.51 in 2030. Price experts on DigitalCoinPrice 

 on TNSR, believing the token will hit $$2.17 in 2025 and increase to $6.34 by 2030.

While these price predictions appear bullish, they aren’t a guarantee of TNSR’s future price. We highly recommend you 

 before investing in Tensor or any other altcoins.

Tensor has quickly become the second-largest NFT marketplace on Solana through its innovative approach of using blockchain technology to trade NFTs, and its community-focused model of rewarding members through airdrops.

Its innovative features, such as Price Locks and the TensorSwap AMM, could be game changers for the way NFTs are traded. As more liquidity continues to flow back into Solana, Tensor will be among the top projects to watch.

TNSR.png

Tensor (TNSR): Revolutionizing Solana's NFT Trading Infrastructure

Mysten Labs, the creator of the Layer 1 Sui protocol, celebrated its mainnet's first anniversary with significant growth and notable partnerships with major tech companies like Google and TikTok's parent company, ByteDance.

Daily Top Performer — Near Protocol (NEAR)

Last week, the SPX index is up 0.55%, and the jobs report for April indicated a slowdown in hiring, which fell short of expectations and was lower compared to March. Additionally, Berkshire Hathaway reported a significant reduction in its Apple holdings at its annual shareholder meeting. The broader cryptocurrency market is down, with Bitcoin and Ether dropping by 0.35% and 0.26%, respectively in the past 24 hours.

Today’s outperformer is NEAR, which jumped 8.0% after 

 enhances ecosystem scalability with NEAR Protocol Data Availability integration.

Near Protocol (NEAR), launched on April 2020, is a decentralized platform using sharding for efficient app development and operation. Prom has announced the integration of the NEAR Protocol Data Availability (DA) solution into its ecosystem. This strategic move aims to enhance scalability for rollup developers by offering low-cost, reliable, and high-performance data availability. The integration allows for greater flexibility in addressing blockchain architectural constraints and promises more updates in the future.

Check Out the Latest Prices, Charts, and Data of 

Mysten Labs, the creator of the Layer 1 Sui protocol, celebrated its mainnet's first anniversary with significant growth and notable partnerships with major tech companies like Google and TikTok's parent company, ByteDance. The CEO of Mysten Labs, Evan Cheng, expressed optimism about the future of blockchain technology, predicting a transformative "

" for web3. The company announced new ecosystem partnerships focused on enhancing security and scalability with Alibaba Cloud and Google Cloud, and developing web3 gaming and other digital initiatives with BytePlus. Despite facing stiff competition from other blockchains and having fluctuated in the rankings of total value locked (TVL), Sui remains a strong contender in the blockchain space, boasting robust transaction volumes.

Prices dropped from around $64,000 to below $57,000, with significant ETF outflows peaking at $563.7 million on May 1. Concurrently, Grayscale’s GBTC saw major outflows, while some ETFs like Ark Invest’s ARKB experienced inflows. 

 for its upcoming ZRO token airdrop, an essential milestone in the protocol's development aimed at fostering cross-chain interoperability. The airdrop, set to occur in the first half of 2024, has sparked significant anticipation within the DeFi community, evidenced by trading activity on Hyperliquid DEX, where ZRO's perpetual futures are priced at $8.4, indicating a $17 billion valuation. However, concerns persist about the potential adverse effects of Sybil users, who may exploit the airdrop for short-term gains, as seen in other recent airdrops, which could impact ZRO's price stability post-launch.

Beginner

Daily_Bits_Title_Subtitle_&_Eyebrow_1600x900_(67).png

Mysten Labs Celebrates Sui Protocol's First Anniversary with Major Partnerships and Optimistic Outlook for Web3

Slash (SVL) is a decentralized platform revolutionizing crypto payments with solutions like Slash Payment and Slash Card for seamless transactions across different cryptocurrencies and fiat assets. 

One of the biggest crypto payment issues is the need to swap assets, sometimes more than once, to pay for a purchase. This is because there's often a mismatch between the tokens merchants are willing to accept and the assets held by a potential customer/payer. What’s more, the fees from these swaps can add up quickly on both sides of the purchase equation. 

, was supposed to solve these problems. However, these coins only partially addressed the issue, as different merchants still have various stablecoin preferences. In addition, cryptocurrency in general still struggles to move beyond the realms of 

). The quest to make crypto as common as fiat money for payments is still ongoing. 

Slash fintech (SVL), or simply Slash, is a decentralized project working to solve both issues. Slash aims to facilitate effortless, streamlined crypto payments both within and outside the DeFi domain, facilitating transactions in cryptocurrencies preferred by merchants and payers.

) that provides merchants with an easy-to-use, streamlined and secure way of accepting crypto payments.

 The platform's flagship products include Slash Payment, a crypto payment solution that lets users pay in their preferred cryptocurrency while enabling merchants to accept the payment in the asset of their choice, and Slash Card, an internationally recognized credit card utilizing established stablecoins as collateral.

Founded in 2021 by Japanese entrepreneur Shinsuke Sato, the Slash platform's operations were launched in mid-2022 on 

 platform. Thanks to its utilization of Mantle, Slash can offer users negligible transaction fees and near-instant finality. In late April 2024, Slash launched its native token — Slash Vision Labs (SVL).

In order to enable efficient crypto payments, Slash sources data from various DeFi protocols and pools to offer users the best swap rates and lowest transaction fees. All revenues collected by Slash go back to the stakers of the platform's SVL token.

The project's ecosystem includes several crypto payment and non-fungible token (

) products. Among these, two payment solutions — Slash Payment and Slash Card — stand out as its main products.

Slash Payment is the platform's primary crypto payment solution. It allows payers to use a crypto token of their choice to make payments, while in turn letting merchants accept the payment in their preferred cryptos. During transaction execution, Slash Payment checks in real time for the best swap rates and fees across numerous DeFi platforms to facilitate the payment. Consequently, payers can enjoy the lowest possible fees at all times.

At the same time, merchants pay no fees for accepting payments. Payment settlement is noncustodial and nearly instant. Another advantage of Slash Payment is the absence of 

 (KYC) requirements, which adds a significant degree of privacy and flexibility for transacting parties.

At the moment, Slash Payment supports nine blockchain networks, including major 

Slash Card is a service offered by the Slash platform that allows you to use two 

 — USDT and USDC — as collateral to acquire an internationally recognized credit card for online payments. By offering the card, Slash bridges the gap between cryptocurrencies and fiat assets.

It's a known fact that using your crypto assets with products such as credit cards isn't a widely offered option online, especially in the stringent regulatory landscape of Japan. Yet Slash Card stands out as a rare crypto-powered credit card product approved by the Japanese authorities for use in the nation's market and payment systems.

The project's ecosystem also includes the Slash Vaults platform, which enables 

 such as SVL around NFTs based on the ERC-721 standard. By wrapping the tokens around an NFT and turning the NFT into a key, users create their own crypto vaults, enabling the deposit, withdrawal, timelock and investment of the tokens. Tokens deposited into the vaults can be used for payments with the platform's Slash Vaults Pay solution.

Alice NFT is a cyberpunk-themed NFT collection released by the Slash project. The collection consists of 10,000 NFTs, each depicting a cyberpunk-styled individual. The collection has 20 different cyberpunk characters, with the main character named Alice, hence the collection name.

The collection is based on the Ethereum blockchain. In early April 2024, Slash announced the 

 that facilitates the transfer of Alice NFTs (see link in this sentence) from Ethereum to Mantle.

Slash Vision Labs (SVL) is the platform's native cryptocurrency. It's an 

 token based on Mantle Network, and its main functions include 

. The governance function is enhanced by timelocking more SVL (and for a longer period) in the Slash Vaults platform. Timelocking SVL also provides rewards in the form of wrapped BTC (

The SVL token is also used to facilitate the revenue-sharing arrangement on Slash. SVL stakers are entitled to 100% of the protocol revenues generated from the Slash Payment and Slash Card products. The protocol uses the revenues to buy Mantle Network's native MNT token off the market. These funds are then distributed to holders of SVL TimeLock NFTs, which are 

 non-fungible assets issued to SVL stakers.

 asset, with a total and maximum supply of 10 billion. Token supply allocation shares are per the chart below.

When you stake your SVL tokens on Slash, you’re issued a soulbound SVL TimeLock NFT. Soulbound tokens (SBTs) are nontransferable assets tied to a particular wallet, and typically serve as a form of decentralized identity. SVL TimeLock NFTs are used as confirmation of your staking and entitle you to other benefits, such as participation in on-platform governance processes. Upon un-staking your SVL funds, the NFTs are 

In addition to SVL TimeLock NFTs, the staking process on Slash involves another type of NFT — KeyNFT. Only certain whitelisted NFT collections on Mantle can act as KeyNFTs. These NFTs grant you the right to access the SVL staking process. Thus, they act as a form of cryptographic key for staking. In contrast, an SVL TimeLock NFT is issued upon staking and serves as a "confirmation certificate" for your staked funds. 

The abovementioned Alice is one of the whitelisted NFT collections that can be used to access SVL staking. Another collection whitelisted for KeyNFTs is VeryLongSlash NFT, an SBT whose 

Among the collections that can be used as KeyNFTs is 

. This special collection was distributed by the project via an airdrop in late April 2024 to celebrate the launch of Slash Vision Portal version 0.75. As part of the campaign, SVL stakers earned Genesis NFTs and were eligible for a share of the 50,000 MNT prize pool. These NFTs also entitle their holders, as early adopters, to additional on-platform benefits in the future.

The SVL token is available through Bybit's 

 portal, a platform for decentralized, efficient and low-cost crypto asset swaps. It supports tokens from various blockchain platforms and offers other benefits, such as no KYC requirements, one-step swaps, support for new tokens unavailable on most other platforms and fully on-chain transactions.

In addition to Web 3 Swap, the SVL token is also available on Bybit's Spot market (

). Bybit's Spot and Derivatives markets provide you with opportunities to trade hundreds of cryptocurrencies and crypto-based products. If you don't have a Bybit account, you can easily 

 to access our extensive range of crypto products and assets.

Navigating numerous exchanges and liquidity protocols to find the best swap rates is a challenging and time-consuming activity for crypto users. Slash’s unique platform greatly simplifies this process. In fact, with Slash Payment, there's no need to bother with swap operations at all — it's all automated to deliver you the best rates for a given transaction. Additionally, Slash Card is a unique product and valuable tool for anyone who would like to put their cryptocurrency funds to use outside of the 

With these innovative products, Slash is bound to gain notice among the broader crypto user and merchant communities. As crypto payments become more actively used, we'll undoubtedly be hearing more about Slash fintech and its unique products.

Slash_(SVL).png

Slash (SVL): Making Crypto Payments Effortless

Bybit Learn

Tech Deep Dive

From constant outages to heavy VC backing, find out why critics are becoming increasingly concerned with Solana's claims of being decentralized.

Most financial transactions occur based on a centralized model, where a third party has the authority to manage any issues. However, having one party in charge is a double-edged sword, because if that intermediary is compromised, then all client transactions can be impacted. Cryptocurrencies promise to decentralize control of a network so that there’s not one single point of failure. Does this mean that decentralized crypto is immune? And what qualifies as decentralized?

 network suffered another outage — the 12th this year. The blackout shut down the network for four hours and ten minutes, and stopped a potential 975 million transactions from occurring. In a tweet, Anatoly Yakovenko, Solana Labs co-founder, explained the downtime: “As a result of the long nonce instruction, part of the network considered the block invalid, and no consensus could be reached.”

Stability issues on the Solana network caused its value to dip this year, and raised serious questions about the network’s decentralization.

This article examines the issues surrounding the Solana blockchain, and the ways in which its decentralization (or lack thereof) affects the network’s performance.

Blockchain decentralization is a governance system wherein decision-making rights are dispersed across the charge of shareholders or token holders in the majority. It’s designed to keep the network impartial, secure and accessible.

Blockchain decentralization transfers control, decision-making and supervision from a centralized entity, which could be an individual or a group, to a distributed network. The idea of decentralization is to reduce the need for trust among participants, and to lessen their capacity to influence one another to the detriment of the network’s functionality.

Decentralization is what makes the ”permissionless” and “censorship-resistant” qualities of blockchain networks possible. This means that networks can be accessed by all, and anyone can build on them without fear of undue influence or coercion. Decentralization also ensures the security and stability of the network.

The degree to which a blockchain network is decentralized is apparent in the number of distinct groups responsible for validating transactions, the number of developers building on it, and the distribution of the network’s token.

 is a method of measuring the extent of decentralization of a blockchain. It considers the unique properties of blockchain networks to get a more accurate picture of how decentralized a subject network is.

Created in 2017 by Anatoly Yakovenko and Raj Gokal, Solana was designed to push past the throughput limitations of mainstream blockchains while keeping transaction costs low. It boasts a theoretical throughput of 710,000 transactions per second, an impressive speed achieved through the implementation of a unique hybrid proof of history (PoH) consensus mechanism that utilizes a proof of stake (PoS) synchronization engine.

However, for many industry watchers, the Solana network’s lightning-fast speed comes at a cost — namely, centralization. Despite counterclaims, detractors continue to pile up evidence that Solana lacks decent decentralization. This has caused many to wonder if Solana is truly decentralized. To answer this concern, let's examine some of the factors and unique characteristics of the Solana blockchain that lead to doubts about its degree of decentralization.

In PoS networks, security relies on staked tokens which power transaction validation. Stakers are rewarded with transaction fees and voting power. Currently, about 77.7% of all SOL tokens in circulation are staked. Since the amount of SOL allocated to the public is comparatively small, the majority of these staked SOL will belong to insiders.

Invariably, this small group of insiders wields considerable network validation power, a situation that seems to make a case for the lack of decentralization of the Solana Blockchain. 

Critics have also pointed out that the Solana Foundation is the only entity developing core nodes on the blockchain, making them a central control point and reducing the network’s decentralization. Validator nodes are a key component of a blockchain network, and are primarily responsible for reaching consensus, verifying, and updating transactions.

To understand the impact of the validator node concentration on the Solana network, it’s important to consider the number of operational nodes and who owns them. Solana scored a relatively high Nakamato Coefficient of 19. Out of the current 1,161 validators, the top 19 validators control sufficient staked Solana (and therefore voting power) to launch a coordinated attack on the network — if they wanted to.

Validation on the Solana blockchain has a higher barrier to entry, due to expensive hardware requirements for running a validator node. Since few people can afford the thousands of dollars these high-end computers cost, the Solana network inevitably tilts toward centralization.

The Solana network's decentralization is further reduced by the high amount of SOL a validator needs to break even. According to rough estimates, a validator will have to stake about $1 million worth of SOL just to break even. To ease this burden, the Solana Foundation has subsidized validators who meet specific criteria to the tune of 25,000 SOL. However, this further reduces the network’s decentralization, as it means they choose many of the validators, rather than validators choosing to operate nodes by themselves.

With a $314.2 million investment in Solana Labs (through his trading firm Alameda Research), FTX Chief Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) and a few other VCs have a significant stake in the project. This has led to fears of Solana being a venture capitalist-funded project that sacrifices decentralization and security for transaction speed. In fact, the VCs control virtually half of the staked SOL, creating a single point of control that increases vulnerability and detracts from its claim of decentralization.

As previously mentioned, the latest Solana outage was on June 1, 2022, when the network went down yet again due to a bug in the "durable nonce transaction feature," according to Solana Labs developers. Unfortunately, this isn’t an isolated event, as the network has been hit with a string of outages. This latest one, which lasted for four-and-a-half hours, was the fifth blackout in 2022 alone. 

Solana developers have always given a reason for each outage, ranging from attackers attempting to overload the network with excess transactions to bots running rampant and bugs in the network’s systems. 

But is there a link between Solana's perceived lack of decentralization and these outages? 

While the outages are likely due to unresolved bugs inherent in the network's novel hybrid consensus mechanism, the ease with which node validators restarted the network after the outages exposed an uncomfortable degree of centralization. 

In circumstances similar to Solana’s network outages, another incident inadvertently exposed the soft, centralized underbelly of the Solana ecosystem. 

Trouble started when the whale risked auto-liquidating the 5.7 million SOL deposited as collateral for a $108 million stablecoin loan — in this case, a mix of USDC and Tether — if the slipping SOL price dropped to $22.30. The forced liquidation threatened to wipe out all of the SOL in the liquidity pool and trigger massive liquidations, potentially crashing the Solana network (again). 

Reacting hastily, the protocol unanimously proposed a solution dubbed “SLND1.” This fix sought to hijack the whale’s account, and strategically liquidate the collateral in an orderly manner, in order to avert another Solana meltdown.

However, the Solend team was forced to rescind the decision — in the face of a strident public outcry that questioned the validity of a vote suspiciously concluded within a mere 24 hours. A protocol that could make such a critical, game-changing move without adequate input from all users still has a lot of decentralizing to do. 

Solana is often referred to as the “Ethereum Killer.” Ethereum, however, is still a more popular blockchain than Solana, behind only Bitcoin.

By several indications, Ethereum proves to be more decentralized than Solana. The first is the percentage of Ethereum insiders who own assets, compared to that of Solana.

According to Messari, a mere 15% of Ethereum tokens are allocated to insiders, and the other 5% are for foundations and incentives. So, in total, 80% is available for public sale. Solana has essentially half of its tokens allocated to insiders.

However, just like Solana, Cardano also falls short of being decentralized in its governance. Both blockchains are still heavily influenced by their parent companies — Solana by Solana Labs, and Cardano by IOHK, a Hong Kong software development company. 

One point where Cardano seems to be more decentralized than Solana, however, is in its validation system. Cardano has over 852,000 delegators on its blockchain, while only about 1,811 validator nodes support Solana. Cardano seems to have made more of an effort to create transparency and decentralization.

Ripple is believed to be heavily centralized, as the project's creators hold the majority of XRP. This means they also have a significant amount of decision-making power. Ripple can easily make changes to its blockchain without a system consensus, as the company has complete access to nodes. Ripple also decides when to create new nodes.

Solana’s 1,811 validators number over twelve times the 150 validators on the Ripple blockchain network.

Investing in SOL is easy. With Bybit, one of the fastest-growing crypto exchanges in the world, you can easily buy, sell, trade, stake and hold SOL. To buy Solana, follow these few easy steps:

Among all other cryptocurrencies tagged as "Ethereum Killers," Solana is one challenger that has vastly improved transaction processing times. However, the network has come under fire for being too centralized. Solana’s string of outages may create renewed motivation to continue improving their network.

Is Solana Decentralized? Outages, VC Ties and More Worries

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards

Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards