Solana

1. What is Solana?

Solana is a Layer-1 blockchain platform known for its transaction throughput and low latency. It is designed to support smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps), making it a popular choice for developers and users within the blockchain community. Solana can process thousands of transactions per second at a very low cost, making it an economical choice for users. Its architecture supports a wide range of applications, from DeFi platforms to NFT marketplaces, and dApps.

2. What is Proof of History (PoH) in Solana?

Proof of History (PoH) is a consensus mechanism utilized by Solana. PoH timestamps transactions and creates a historical record that verifies the sequence of events on the blockchain. This mechanism plays a crucial role in achieving Solana’s high throughput.

3. Have there been any major outages on the Solana network?

Yes, Solana has experienced several notable network outages, which have impacted its reliability. For example, in September 2021, the network went offline for about 17 hours due to a surge in transaction traffic, which overwhelmed the system. Another incident occurred in December 2021, causing a lengthy disruption.

These outages have raised concerns about the network's robustness and ability to handle high volumes during peak times. The latest outage occurred on February 6, with block production stopping for five hours.

4. Who are the founders of Solana?

Solana was co-founded by Anatoly Yakovenko and Greg Fitzgerald. Yakovenko held senior roles at Qualcomm and Dropbox. In 2017, Yakovenko teamed up with Greg Fitzgerald and other former Qualcomm colleagues to develop Solana. The platform and its native cryptocurrency, SOL, were officially launched in 2020.