The Ethereum-competitor has been in a major bull run over the last month. Solana (SOL) is looking to make an entry to the top five crypto list.
Solana has been in the news for a while and continues to dominate the crypto charts. In the last 24-hours, the Solana price has shot up by 24% hitting a new all-time high (ATH) of $145. With this move, the SOL market cap shoots to $41.4 billion making it the seventh-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
On the weekly charts, the SOL price has been up by 70%. Meaning the rally past $100 levels has been ultra-quick and blazing fast. Solana is another Ethereum-competitor in the list of top ten cryptos.
The Solana blockchain allows developers to build decentralized applications running on smart contracts. Just like Ethereum, it also allows developers to built DeFi protocols atop it. People can leverage these protocols to lend money and earn interest, take loans as well as swap assets.
By mid-august last month, the Solana blockchain had a total of $2 billion in assets flowing through its DeFi protocols. According to the data on DeFi Llama it has now crossed $3.96 billion.
Solana ATH Hitting vs Performance of Ethereum
While it’s too early to compare Solana with Ethereum, SOL’s entry to the top ten list has sparked the debate. Solana already has the Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism that offers it an edge in terms of scalability.
Furthermore, Solana creators claim that its blockchain is the “fastest blockchain in the world”. Some of the popular market analysts have also delved into the debate. Dan Held, head of growth at crypto exchange Kraken recently asked a question “Is Solana a better smart contract platform than Ethereum?”
Is Solana a better smart contract platform than Ethereum?
— Dan Held (@danheld) August 31, 2021
Responding to it, another market analyst Willy Woo noted that “the DeFi apps that run on it run a lot better. There are a few videos on how SBF’s team chose Solana on their quest to build a DEX with proper order books (Serum). It technically wouldn’t be doable on ETH and still be usable; too slow and too expensive”.
Just like Solana, another Ethereum-competitor Cardano has gained solid market share this year. Cardano (ADA) has surged all the way to becoming the third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
On Thursday, Cardano’s ADA cryptocurrency surged past the $3 level hitting its new all-time high. The Cardano blockchain is all set to undergo the Alonzo hardfork upgrade next week on September 12.
next