Solana is a layer 1 network just like Ethereum that enables users to build decentralized applications on top of it. Ethereum has been struggling with scalability issues for a while now, leading to the birth of many ‘Ethereum killers.’, Solana being one of them.
Ethereum killers are blockchain networks trying to solve the same problem as Ethereum but more efficiently. Usually, to scale, blockchains have to either sacrifice decentralization or security. And Ethereum has been struggling to scale without sacrificing any of those. So Ethereum killers take this as a challenge to come up with solutions that will help achieve all three simultaneously. Solana offers one such solution: Proof-of-History (PoH) consensus algorithm.
PoH allows Solana to process more than 50,000 transactions per second and achieve near-instant finality. Besides, Solana is backed by several well-known investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Polychain Capital, and CoinDesk.
So if the Solana blockchain is all that great, there must be a lot of cutting-edge applications built on it, right? Yes, and we will go through them today!
Top 10 Solana Projects To Follow In 2023
Alongside being scalable, Solana also offers cheap transaction costs and energy-efficient architecture, giving an edge to projects on its network. As a result, we have over 350 projects building on it. Some of which are truly shaping the decentralized ecosystem, and here is a list of them –
P.S. You can invest in the associated cryptos of these projects through the Solana Select Coin Set. It would help you reap returns from the growth of these DApps and the Solana network itself.
1. STEPN
Yawn Rong, an Australian blockchain entrepreneur, created STEPN in August 2021. It is a “Web3 lifestyle app” with GameFi components. It creates a new category called “move-to-earn” by fusing elements of a play-to-earn game with fitness software.
STEPN wants to revolutionize the fitness sector in several ways.
First, users may start earning in the game’s ‘Solo Mode’ by purchasing a pair of NFT sneakers after installing the app and setting up a wallet. They can acquire tokens while jogging or walking. The number of tokens that different types of shoes may yield varies, and the better the efficiency characteristic, the more tokens the user can make per minute.
Here is where the gamification of fitness, STEPN’s second groundbreaking component, is introduced. STEPN gamifies exercise and encourages users to lead a healthy lifestyle through the app’s in-game awards, daily energy allocations, and personalized footwear. Participants can accumulate points and compare their accomplishments on a scoreboard, with more prizes for the top finishers.
2. Star Atlas
The Star Atlas blockchain project was launched in January 2021 by CEO Michael Wagner, COO Pablo Quiroga, and CTO Jacob Floyd.
It is a metaverse-based online game developed using Unreal Engine 5, enabling the game to include real-time landscapes of cinematic quality. The game is a role-playing one with play-to-earn features and is based in the year 2620, a futuristic science fiction setting. The game blends several genres. It involves strategy, exploration, and flight simulation as a part of its gameplay.
With its cinematic gaming experience and the possibility to earn virtual assets that can be converted into real-world money, it intends to surpass its rivals. No blockchain game, to date, has offered as many potential gameplay variations as Star Atlas. No game can do all of the aforementioned simultaneously. They also let you make money through staking, compete with other players for virtual goods, or explore the game’s virtual world and build alliances. The ATLAS token can be used as in-game money to buy items; players can also acquire NFTs that include ships and other in-game equipment from the NFT marketplace.
Additionally, because ATLAS tokens are integrated with the Serum DEX, holders will have the option of generating liquidity or selling and buying tokens. All these factors make it a good game on the Solana network.
3. Civic
In 2015, Vinny Lingham and Jonathan Smith co-founded Civic. It is a blockchain-based identity management system that provides people and organizations with the means to manage and safeguard personal identification data. By offering users more control over their data and enabling them to access a variety of services without having to reveal excessive quantities of personal information, the platform aims to transform the way we approach identity verification.
Civic is designed to provide users complete access to their personal information while making it simple to authenticate their identity with service providers. It enables speedier user onboarding for businesses utilizing an AI-powered verification method, which, when supplemented with human review, reduces fraud and keeps firms compliant.
4. Audius
Roneil Rumburg and Forrest Browning, two businessmen from California, launched Audius in 2018. It is a decentralized music streaming system, currently supported by Solana.
Inefficiencies in the music business, including opaque ownership of music rights and middlemen stepping between artists and the audiences, led to the creation of Audius. Through its platform, powered by its native AUDIO token, Audius seeks to connect the interests of artists, fans, and node operators. Fans may stream free music that artists have uploaded, which is stored and disseminated through content and discovery nodes.
The Audius content ledger is where artists publish their work. They can do this for free, and the 320 kbps streaming quality is equivalent to that of Spotify and Google Play Music. With the condition that they stake AUDIO. Musicians may utilize Audius to explore or distribute supplementary recordings. The platform also promises to integrate artist tokens to make monetization easier. Artists can also participate in incentive programs where well-known artists receive token airdrops.
Free track listening is available, and in the future, fans could be able to stake AUDIO to help artists succeed on the platform.
5. Ren
In 2017, Taiyang Zhang, the CEO of Ren, created the company. Ren (REN), formerly known as Republic Protocol, was first introduced in January 2018. It is an open protocol that offers interoperability and liquidity between various blockchain platforms. Ren is a sophisticated platform with many applications, but its primary goal is to lower the financial and access barriers for DeFi projects.
It enables DeFi projects to incorporate foreign cryptocurrencies like Zcash (ZEC) and Bitcoin (BTC) into their offerings as a plug-in. Additionally, users are essentially able to exchange any token between any two blockchains without the need for intermediary stages like “wrapped” versions of tokens, such as Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) and Wrapped Ethereum (WETH).
6. Injective Protocol
2018 saw the creation of the protocol by Albert Chon, CTO of Injective Labs, and co-founder Eric Chen. Countless decentralized finance marketplaces are accessible because of Injective. The fast, cross-chain, safe, completely decentralized, and gas-free exchange protocol of Injective allows users to build any financial market. Over 200K community members worldwide and 100+ projects are part of the Injective ecosystem. Mark Cuban, Binance, and Pantera Capital are just a few of the well-known investors who support Injective.
Injective enables completely decentralized trading of complex financial derivatives, futures, perpetuals, and cryptocurrencies. Trades are complete instantly, with no waiting periods, and at no additional expense. Users of Injective may transact with several blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Cosmos, and Binance Smart Chain, without any issues.
7. Coin 98
Vinh The Nguyen and Thanh Le founded Coin 98, which was launched in 2021. By acting as a gateway, connecting TradFi consumers to any DeFi services across several blockchains, Coin98 seeks to meet unmet industry needs.
It offers a range of products, such as Coin98 Wallet, Coin98 Exchange, and Space Gate. Coin98 Wallet stands notable because it was the first wallet engine to be multi-chain interoperable, allowing users to connect with several wallets on various blockchains simultaneously with only one passphrase and no complex switching procedures.
8. Raydium
Built on the Solana blockchain, Raydium is an automated market maker (AMM) and liquidity provider for the Serum decentralized exchange (DEX).
In contrast to other AMMs, Raydium offers on-chain liquidity to a centralized limit order book. Meaning that money entered into Raydium is transformed into limit orders placed on Serum’s systems. As a result, Raydium liquidity pools (LPs) have access to Serum’s order flow and current liquidity.
The native utility token RAY is useful for staking and governance votes on protocol decisions, which offers investors a good incentive.
9. Serum
Serum is a decentralized exchange (DEX) ecosystem, revolutionizing decentralized finance with its unmatched speed and cheap transaction fees. The matching engine and completely on-chain central limit order book are the foundation of Serum.
Users and developers are skeptical of DeFi platforms on Ethereum due to high gas prices and sluggish transactions. With Solana’s help, Serum seeks to address these well-known DeFi difficulties and other problems such as centralization, inadequate capital reliability, and liquidity segmentation. It is also one of the biggest DEX in the Solana network.
10. Larix
Larix is a lending protocol built on Solana designed to allow users to utilize DeFi services through their favorite assets, from tokens to coins and even NFTs. The Larix project is determined to eliminate the congestion issues while eliminating rising gas fees. It is backed by some of the biggest names in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry, including Solana Polygon and Huobi Global, alongside other partners such as Fenbushi Capital and IPC. Built on the fast Salona network, which uses a proof of history framework, Larix focuses on an actual lending experience offering dynamic interest rates and risk management protocols optimized for capital efficiency. Larix offers the first lending protocol with live mining functionality.
Conclusion
Since its debut in 2020, Solana has advanced significantly, bringing many significant projects to the ecosystem, thus expanding the audience. There are various well-equipped participants in the emerging decentralized economy. However, Solana projects might have the upper hand because of cheap transaction costs, fast throughput, and energy-efficient architecture. To invest in them, check out the Solana Select Coin Set. It is a basket of cryptocurrencies consisting of the top crypto tokens from the Solana network.
FAQs
1. How many projects are there in Solana?
Solana offers an ecosystem for DApp developers to create applications quickly and affordably. There are more than 350 projects on Solana because of its high transaction throughput.
2. How to buy Solana?
You can buy Solana on any crypto platform. However, the best way to invest in this up-and-coming ecosystem would be to also invest in some cool projects being built on it. The Solana Select Coin Set lets you do exactly that; Download Mudrex and explore it now.
3. Is Solana the next Ethereum?
It is difficult to say whether or not Solana will be the next Ethereum. While both these networks are solving the same problem, Ethereum is a veteran that is learning and improving as we go, while Solana is still relatively new. It is yet to prove itself as a robust network; Ethereum has passed this stage well before, so only time will tell if it will overtake Ethereum or not.
4. Which company uses Solana?
No one company uses Solana exclusively. Instead, Solana is an open-source project that several companies and organizations utilize. Some notable companies and projects that use Solana include Binance, Coinbase, FTX, and Serum.
5. Which coin will be the next Solana?
There is no definite answer as to which coin will be the next Solana. However, some popular contenders for the title include Cardano and Polkadot. They all have solid teams and large communities and are working on ambitious projects that could revolutionize the blockchain space.
