Introduction

Solana is a blockchain platform that allows people to build and use decentralized applications (dApps) and cryptocurrencies. It was created in 2017 by Anatoly Yakovenko and officially launched its mainnet beta in March 2020.

Blockchain Trilemma

The blockchain trilemma refers to a problem that blockchains face when trying to achieve three important things at once:

• Scalability: Being fast and able to handle many transactions.
• Security: Ensuring the system is resistant to attacks.
• Decentralization: Controlled by many people instead of just one group.

Usually, improving one of these aspects can make the others weaker. For example, if a blockchain is very secure and decentralized, it might struggle to process transactions quickly. The main value proposition of Solana is solving the blockchain trilemma, i.e., delivering scalability, decentralization, and security without sacrificing any of the three mentioned features.

Development on Solana

Solana’s ecosystem revolves around the Rust programming language and its ecosystem. Although Rust is the primary language for smart contract development, C and C++ are also supported.