SOLANA
ARCHITECT.
Solana is a high performance blockchain designed for speed, low cost, and scalability. It solves key limitations found in earlier blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
01 / Why Solana
Bitcoin
Secure but slow and not flexible for applications.
Ethereum
Supports smart contracts but continues to suffer from high gas fees and limited throughput.
Solana
Addresses these problems by combining multiple innovations focused on speed and efficiency.
Core Technologies
// SELECT TECHNOLOGY
The Account Model
Solana uses an account based model where everything is stored in accounts. Wallets, smart contracts, tokens, NFTs, and application data all follow the same structure.
Each account contains an address, lamports, data, and an owner program. Only the owning program can modify an account’s data.
Program vs Data
Smart contracts are called Program Accounts and store only code.
All changing data is stored in separate Data Accounts.
Account Structure
Program Derived Addresses (PDAs)
PDAs are special accounts controlled entirely by programs. They do not have private keys and can only be modified through program logic, enabling secure application state management.
Transaction Fees
Solana does not use an Ethereum style gas model.
- Each transaction has a small and predictable fee paid in lamports.
- Optional priority fees can be added during congestion to speed up confirmation.
Real World Applications
Projects like Hivemapper and Helium use Solana for token issuance, rewards distribution, and decentralized validation.
"Solana enables trustless incentives, high throughput, and low cost operations that centralized systems cannot easily replicate."
Summary
Solana is designed for developers building high speed, user friendly decentralized applications.
Its architecture prioritizes scalability, low fees, and efficient execution while maintaining decentralization and security.