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Core Concepts

Learn the key features that make Solana so fast, efficient and scalable. These eight core concepts are what makes Solana stand out from other blockchains!


  • Proof of History


    A cryptographic clock that timestamps transactions.

    Proof of History

  • Tower BFT


    A consensus mechanism that ensures finality using PoH as a clock reference.

    Tower BFT

  • Turbine


    A block propagation protocol that breaks data into smaller packets for faster transmission.

    Turbine

  • Gulf Stream


    A mempool system that pushes transactions to validators before confirmation.

    Gulf Stream

  • Sealevel


    Solana’s parallel smart contract runtime for simultaneous transaction execution.

    Sealevel

  • Pipelining


    A technique that optimizes transaction processing.

    Pipelining

  • Cloudbreak


    Solana's custom database that enables fast reads and writes.

    Cloudbreak

  • Archivers


    Distributed storage systems that hold and serve off-chain data for Solana’s ledger.

    Archivers