Solana in depth
How Solana works and what makes it different, wallets and tokens, staking, DeFi and memecoins without illusions, and SOL on the market in real data.
5 modules · 16 lessons · 58 min
Risk warning
This course is educational and is not investment advice. Trading crypto is highly risky – you can lose all the money you put in. Read the risk warning
Who it is for
People who know the crypto basics and want to use Solana – or trade SOL – knowing how it works and where the risks are.
What you will learn
- Explain how Solana works and what it trades off for its speed
- Use a Solana wallet safely and read what you are signing
- Understand native and liquid staking and their risks
- Check a token before you buy it and see SOL's market behaviour in real data
Course outline
Module 1How Solana works
- 1.Why Solana was createdWhat problem Solana set out to solve, why it is fast and cheap and what it pays for that – the blockchain trilemma without the marketing.3 min
- 2.Validators, proof of stake and Proof of HistoryWho writes the blocks on Solana, why everyone knows in advance whose turn it is, what the cryptographic clock is for and what shorter slots and the Alpenglow upgrade will bring.4 min
- 3.Outages and decentralisationHow many times Solana stopped, why, what has changed since, and how decentralised a network with fewer than a thousand validators is.4 min
- 4.The SOL token: inflation, fee burning and stakingWhat SOL is for, why more of it appears every year, how much gets burned, why unstaked SOL loses its share and what the FTX collapse did to the price.5 min
Module 2Wallet and tokens
- 5.Wallet and accountsHow Solana stores data in accounts, why every token in your wallet has its own account, what account rent is and why you should always keep a little SOL for fees.4 min
- 6.Fees and priority feesWhat a Solana fee is made of, when and why you pay for priority, why a transaction sometimes fails and why you pay even for a failed one.3 min
- 7.SPL tokens and NFTsHow a token is created on Solana, who can mint more or freeze it, why a name and a logo guarantee nothing, and what NFTs and spam NFTs in your wallet are.4 min
- 8.Security: drainers, signing and fake airdropsHow one signature empties a whole wallet, what your wallet shows you before signing, how to spot a fake airdrop and how to split your wallets.4 min
Module 3Staking
- 9.Native stakingHow a stake account works on Solana, why you wait for the end of an epoch, how to choose a validator and what commission and MEV mean.4 min
- 10.Liquid staking and its risksHow a staking token works, why its rate to SOL rises, what a discount to fair value is and why building leverage on staked tokens is playing with fire.3 min
Module 4DeFi and memecoins
- 11.Swaps and aggregatorsHow a liquidity pool works, why a big purchase in a small pool pushes the price up, what an aggregator does and how a sandwich attack takes your money.4 min
- 12.Memecoins and launchpadsHow a memecoin is created for a few cents, what a bonding curve is, why the vast majority of tokens die within days and who makes money from it.4 min
- 13.How to check a tokenA checklist before buying a token on Solana: mint address, authorities, token extensions, holders, liquidity and a test sale.3 min
Module 5SOL on the market
- 14.SOL price historySix years of SOL in real data: from 3 USD to 260, a 97% fall to 8 USD, back to a record 296 and another 80% drop. What it means for you.3 min
- 15.SOL versus BTC and ETHHow closely SOL moves with Bitcoin, why it swings about twice as much, what beta is and what the SOL/BTC ratio shows – on daily data from 2021 to 2026.3 min
- 16.Summary and what nextThe most important points of the Solana course in ten rules and where to go next – from trading with a plan to testing strategies.3 min