Connect with us

Solana

Solana: All That Glitters Ain’t Gold (Cryptocurrency:SOL-USD)

Cashverse

Published

on

The Digital Trend profile picture

DNY59/iStock via Getty Images

Thesis Summary

Solana (SOL-USD) is a fast-growing layer 1 blockchain that could one day dethrone Ethereum (ETH-USD). In a previous article, I compared Solana and Ethereum and pointed out that Solana offers numerous advantages over the latter. However, there are a few key drawbacks to Solana and one which I find especially concerning.

Decentralization is a key crypto selling point, but one that Solana does not offer. With that said. Is decentralization worth sacrificing to achieve more efficiency? Will users/companies be comfortable building on a centralized network?

I hold Solana in my portfolio, but I am cautious about its future and have more money invested in cryptos where I see more long-term potential.

Too Good To Be True

Solana was founded by ​​Anatoly Yakovenko and officially launched in 2020. Since then, it has appreciated at a very fast rate:

Solana Price

Solana Price (TradingView)

Launching at around $1, Solana reached over $250 at its peak but has since fallen to around $90, as the general crypto market has corrected. Solana’s ascent coincided with a general bull market in crypto, but this altcoin was one of the best performing, and it is unsurprising when we look at its technical specs.

Solana uses Proof-of-History, which allows validators to compute the passage of time. What this means in practice is that validators do not need to finish for blocks to be finished to validate more transactions. They can validate transactions as they come. Solana also uses a protocol called Turbine, which, like sharding, breaks blocks into smaller, more manageable bits of information.

All of this allows Solana to carry out up to 50,000 transactions per second, and according to its website, transaction fees average around $0.00025.

Solana has a very active developer community, and its native wallet, Phantom, has achieved a valuation of $1.2 billion. And we also have Solanart, a thriving NFT marketplace on the Solana blockchain.

The growth in Solana’s popularity can also be appreciated through on-chain metrics:

Solana Activity

Solana Activity (ChainCrunch Twitter)

Developers like Solana for obvious reasons, and there’s a lot of support for this crypto. But does that mean you should buy it?

Solana: All That Glitters Ain’t Gold

Let me start by stating that I do own Solana and intend to hold it over the next bull run. However, there are some key “risks” investors should be aware of.

First off, investors should know that Solana is inflationary. Solana’s supply inflates by 8% every year due to staking rewards. However, this inflation should be reduced at a rate of 15% per annum until it reaches 1% per year.

Most importantly though, the big concern some have with Solana is how centralized the network and token supply is:

Liquid Supply Curve

Liquid Supply Curve (Messari)

As we can see above, most of the Solana supply is held by insiders and early investors. The “public auction” part of the supply, actually only represents 1.3%. Arguably, this could be evened out as stake rewards increase the supply, but the truth is that staking in Solana is not feasible.

Hardware costs for Solana are much higher than for other cryptocurrencies, meaning that running a node is more prohibitive. In this regard, so far, most validator nodes are run by insiders and early investors. As it stands snow, running a node on Solana is highly unprofitable, which has led the Solana Foundation to run a subsidy programme, effectively giving them more control over the network. Supposedly, a validator would need $1 million worth of SOL staked without subsidization just to break even when running a node on the network. And to make matters worse, 45% of Solana’s validators are hosted on 2 data centres. This poses a decentralisation and security problem. Solana has already suffered 4 major network incidents in the last few months.

Lastly, there is no on-chain governance Solana. Solana uses a delegated Proof-of-Stake mechanism, which again leaves the power in the hands of a few.

This high level of centralization means that Solana is not a “neutral” network. It is controlled and will serve the interest of a few. This doesn’t necessarily have to be bad. Arguably these people are still interested in seeing Solana succeed. Despite the high level of concentration of Solana tokens in the hands of early investors, it would seem that these tokens are being held, for the time being, showing that there is confidence in the long-term potential of the network.

Takeaway

The blockchain trilemma is no joke. Security, decentralization and scalability can’t fully coexist. Solana has given up on decentralization to allow for scalability. This doesn’t have to be bad, but I can see why some crypto investors dislike this. There’s no reason why a successful blockchain can’t be run by a corporation, rather than being fully decentralized. As long as it works, why would I care about decision-making and such? There is probably room for both types of ecosystems.

My biggest concern is perhaps security. Solana has had issues in the past, and the fact that validation is not profitable limits the potential for improving security. The fact that most validators are operated in two data centres is also alarming.

With that said, I own Solana. It’s not my favourite altcoins, but it is popular, and I expect it to reach much higher levels, something I discussed in depth in my marketplace.

Source link

Continue Reading

Solana

Tulip Protocol Officially Integrates Chainlink on Solana Mainnet

Cashverse

Published

on

Tulip Protocol Officially Integrates Chainlink on Solana Mainnet

Today, Tulip Protocol made the announcement that they have integrated Chainlink Price Feeds in order to better secure their yield aggregating platform that is running on the Solana mainnet. The team had previously stated their intention to integrate Chainlink Price Feeds, and at this point, the connection has been completely put into action. Chainlink is the premier decentralized oracle network in the world, safeguarding tens of billions of dollars in smart contracts. It has diversified its offerings across other blockchains, notably Solana, Fantom, Polygon, BNB Chain, and others.

In a recent blog post, the team behind the Tulip Protocol explained that they had integrated Chainlink to provide users with more confidence that leveraged positions will be liquidated equitably using extremely accurate price data and that the protocol will continue to be completely collateralized at all times.

According to Tomasz Wojewoda, Head of Global Sales at Chainlink Labs:

“We’re pleased that Tulip Protocol has integrated Chainlink Price Feeds on Solana, helping secure its yield aggregation protocol with highly robust, decentralized market data. With the high-throughput performance of Solana and the strong security guarantees of the Chainlink Network, Tulip Protocol is able to empower users with a performant and secure platform.”

Tulip Protocol Seeks To Take Advantage Of Solana

Tulip Protocol brings together lenders who receive a return on their deposits and borrowers who are interested in gaining access to leverage. Users who initiate leverage positions are responsible for maintaining a loan-to-value (LTV) ratio that has been previously established. The Tulip Protocol then uses the asset price data that is provided by Chainlink Price Feeds to verify that this ratio is accurate. If the value of the collateral falls below the threshold that was established by the protocol, then their position will be immediately liquidated to assist in guaranteeing that the lenders will be repaid.

Tulip Protocol intends to capitalize on Solana by giving users the ability to more regularly reinvest their income and grow their assets without having to pay exorbitant amounts of gas expenses. Chainlink oracles can now be natively integrated on Solana, making it possible for Solana-based applications to benefit from enhanced levels of security and transparency. Yesterday, OpenOcean made the announcement that they would be integrating Chainlink Price Feeds in order to help secure the limited order functionality on many chains. These chains include Avalanche, Ethereum, Polygon, Fantom, and BNB Chain.

According to Senx, Co-Founder of Tulip Protocol:

 “We’re excited to be using Chainlink Price Feeds on Solana to help secure our yield aggregation platform. By leveraging the most secure and reliable on-chain data available, we’re able to provide our lenders and borrowers with greater assurances that liquidations are based on accurate price data, and the protocol will maintain a healthy loan-to-value ratio through all market conditions.” 

Allowing Stakers To Benefit From Higher APYs

Natives of the blockchain as well as newcomers to the technology are beginning to understand that decentralization does not necessarily equate to a secure platform. Given that Web3 services are currently disclosing their susceptibilities to attacks from both within and outside the network, further initiatives should be undertaken to improve the safety of user assets. Fortunately, a growing number of blockchain businesses are beginning to add various levels of security to their services in order to solidify the trust of their existing customers and attract additional investors in the near and distant future.

Tulip Protocol is the very first yield aggregation platform to be built on Solana, and it features auto-compounding vault techniques. The dApp was developed to make use of Solana’s blockchain, which has a low cost and high efficiency, hence enabling the vault techniques to compound frequently. Stakeholders are able to reap the benefits of greater APYs as a result, without the need for active management.

Source link

Continue Reading

Solana

Is your SOL safe? What we know about the Solana hack

Cashverse

Published

on

On this week’s episode of “The Market Report,” Cointelegraph’s resident experts discuss the latest updates concerning the recent Solana (SOL) hack.

To kick things off, we broke down the latest news in the markets this week:

Bitcoin realized price bands form key resistance as bulls lose $24K, significant whale activity between $22,000 and $24,800 adds to the complexity of the current spot market setup. Bitcoin (BTC) consolidated lower on Aug. 9 after familiar resistance preserved a multi-month trading range. When will we finally break out of this price range and make the move towards $30K?

Institutions flocking to Ethereum for 7 straight weeks as Merge nears: Report, “Greater clarity” around the Merge has driven institutional inflows into Ethereum products, according to a CoinShares report. Is the ETH merge finally around the corner and will it bring new all time highs to ETH or has the price already been factored into the current price?

Circle freezes blacklisted Tornado Cash smart contract addresses, Crypto data aggregator Dune Analytics said that, on Monday, Circle, the issuer of the USD Coin (USDC) stablecoin, froze over 75,000 USDC worth of funds linked to the 44 Tornado Cash addresses sanctioned by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list. Could this mark the end for Tornado Cash or is there a way they can redeem themselves?

Next up is a new segment called “Quick Crypto Tips,” which aims to give newcomers to the crypto industry quick and easy tips to get the most out of their experience. This week’s tip: Have some funds ready to buy further downturns.

Market expert Marcel Pechman then carefully examines the Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) markets. Are the current market conditions bullish or bearish? What is the outlook for the next few months? Pechman is here to break it down. The experts also go over some markets news to bring you up to date on the latest regarding the top two cryptocurrencies.

After Marcel’s market analysis, our resident experts discuss whether your SOL is safe and the latest updates on the Solana hack. We also discuss why the network has been victim to so many hacks and downtimes. What exactly do these exploits mean for the Solana platform and if you should be worried.

Lastly, we’ve got insights from Cointelegraph Markets Pro, a platform for crypto traders who want to stay one step ahead of the market. The analysts use Cointelegraph Markets Pro to identify two altcoins that stood out this week: Radicle’s RAD and DigiByte’s DGB.

Do you have a question about a coin or topic not covered here? Don’t worry. Join the YouTube chat room, and write your questions there. The person with the most interesting comment or question will be given a 1 month free subscription to markets Pro worth $100!

The Market Report streams live every Tuesday at 12:00 pm ET (4:00 pm UTC), so be sure to head on over to Cointelegraph’s YouTube page and smash those like and subscribe buttons for all our future videos and updates.

Source link

Continue Reading

Solana

Web3-Based ZepetoX to Build on Solana

Cashverse

Published

on

Web3-Based ZepetoX to Build on Solana

Singapore, Singapore , Aug. 09, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today, the ZepetoX team (ZTX, ZepetoX.io) announced its foray into the web3 space, sharing its vision to build an open world that empowers creators and communities to build, play and earn.

ZepetoX is the crypto metaverse initiative jointly incubated by ZEPETO – Asia’s largest metaverse platform with over 320 million registered users – alongside leading global blockchain organizations including Jump Crypto.

As the sole blockchain project comprehensively backed by ZEPETO, ZepetoX will have exclusive ties to ZEPETO in terms of IP including technological, design, and content assets as well as bridges to facilitate user onboarding between the two platforms. ZepetoX’s blockchain development efforts will be advised by Jump.

“ZepetoX is our official venture into the blockchain industry. We feel that web3 opportunities should be advanced through a crypto-native approach, which is why we are excited to have Jump as a contributor to developing a new platform that would have exclusive connections to ZEPETO. Overall, we believe that ZepetoX can build the ideal web3 platform to not only bring blockchain to our existing users but also to expand our footprint in the blockchain space through various disruptive initiatives,” said Daewook Kim, CEO of Naver Z – the operating entity of ZEPETO.

“We are excited to support ZepetoX’s efforts aimed at onboarding new audiences into the rapidly growing crypto space. ZEPETO’s expertise and technological know-hows accumulated over the past years from building an immersive social platform will serve as a springboard for ZepetoX,” said Saurabh Sharma, Partner at Jump Crypto.

Building on the Solana network, ZepetoX will offer a web-based 3D open world with varying levels of gamification integrated as well as opportunities for users to monetize via ownership of digital assets and social interaction. Ultimately, ZepetoX aims to empower self-expression through customizable avatars and lands that can be equipped with NFTs from a rich collection of assets created by diverse creators, DAOs, or communities.

“I am thrilled to see IP powerhouses like ZepetoX choosing to build their metaverse on Solana,” said Anatoly Yakovenko, Co-Founder of Solana. “Projects like ZepetoX create new pathways for onboarding millions of users to web3.”

“Our global team brings a depth of crypto native experiences and our goal is to build on the foundation of ZEPETO to spearhead the adoption of blockchain among metaverse users, developers, and creators,” said co-CEO of ZepetoX, Chris Chang.

In the coming months, ZepetoX will launch its first land sale. The lands will be tradable on the ZepetoX marketplace, which will feature a variety of different NFTs as the open world project evolves. Further details on the sale will be available on the ZepetoX website in the coming weeks.

# # #

About ZepetoX: ZepetoX (ZTX) is a web3 company building an immersive content-driven platform for users to create, trade digital assets and enjoy social interaction. Founded in 2022, ZepetoX is the blockchain initiative of ZEPETO, widely regarded as the largest Asia-based metaverse platform boasting over 320 million lifetime users with over 2.5 billion virtual fashion items sold.

Contacts:

Vera: vera@ztx.foundation

News Via KISS PR Crypto Press Release Distribution Media Contact az@kisspr.com

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2022 CASHVerse LLC.