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What is Solana (SOL)?
Solana is a high-performance Layer 1 blockchain known for fast transactions (~400ms) and very low fees (<$0.01). It competes with Ethereum as a platform for DeFi and NFTs.
Full Explanation
Solana is a Layer 1 blockchain founded by Anatoly Yakovenko in 2020, designed for speed and low cost. It uses a unique Proof of History (PoH) + Proof of Stake consensus, enabling ~65,000 TPS theoretically (~4,000 TPS in practice). Transaction fees are typically under $0.01. Popular for: DeFi (Jupiter, Raydium), NFTs (Magic Eden), meme coins, and DePIN. Criticism: has experienced several outages, questions about true decentralization. SOL is one of the top 5 cryptocurrencies by market cap.