In this lesson
- find out what problem Solana set out to solve
- understand the blockchain trilemma: speed, security and decentralisation
- see what Solana gave up for its speed
In 2017 Ethereum was choking. One popular game about collecting virtual cats flooded the network, transactions waited and fees rose sharply. Around the same time, a former Qualcomm engineer, Anatoly Yakovenko, wrote a design for a blockchain that would handle thousands of transactions per second for a fraction of a cent. That is how Solana was born – its main network launched in March 2020.
What is different#
Like Ethereum, Solana is a blockchain for smart contracts – programs that run on the network. But it is built differently:
- One big blockchain. Ethereum moves most of its traffic to so-called second layers. Solana wants to handle everything in one network, so apps do not have to bridge money between layers.
- Short blocks. A new block was produced roughly every 0.4 seconds from launch, and from October 2026 it is meant to be every 0.2 seconds. On Ethereum it is 12 seconds, on Bitcoin 10 minutes on average.
- Low fees. The base fee is 0.000005 SOL per signature – a fraction of a cent even at a SOL price of 200 USD.
- Parallel processing. Transactions that do not touch the same data run at the same time, not one after another.
The blockchain trilemma#
Blockchains are often described by a trilemma: you want speed, security and decentralisation, but you only get two of them perfectly. Bitcoin bets on security and decentralisation – a block every ten minutes, a node runs on an ordinary computer. Solana bets on speed.
The price of speed is demanding hardware. A so-called validator – a computer that verifies and writes blocks on Solana – needs a powerful server, lots of memory and a fast connection. Few people run such a machine at home, which is why there are far fewer validators than on Bitcoin or Ethereum. More on that in the lesson on outages and decentralisation.
Speed is not the same as value
A faster and cheaper network is a technical property, not a reason for the token to rise. The price of SOL depends on demand, market mood and supply – and it has already fallen by 97% once.
Common myths#
- "Solana is the Ethereum killer." Both networks solve the same problem differently and both have weaknesses. No winner is certain.
- "Cheap fees = cheap use without risk." Cheap transactions attract scammers and spam too.
- "A fast network never goes down." Solana has had several outages – the third lesson is about them.
Summary
- Solana was created as an answer to slow and expensive blockchains around 2017; its main network has run since 2020.
- It bets on one fast blockchain with blocks every fraction of a second (0.4 seconds, from October 2026 0.2 seconds) and low fees.
- By the blockchain trilemma, it pays for speed with demanding hardware and fewer validators.
- Speed is a technical property, not a guarantee of a rising price.