Algorand Investor
Algorand Vs. Solana – What’s the Difference?
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There are a lot of benefits to gain from learning the difference between Algorand vs. Solana. Both networks entered service at around the same time and offer support for DeFi and Dapps. Here is some valuable insight into these networks and what makes either better suited for particular applications.
What is Algorand?
Algorand entered the market in 2017 as the brainchild of an award-winning computer scientist and professor, Silvio Micali. The project focuses on providing blockchain infrastructure and services to the general public. The network currently offers a host of features to Dapp developers. Notably, the mainnet was launched in 2019.
Source: Twitter @Algorand
What is Solana?
Solana came about the same year as Algorand. The network was created by a group of well-known tech developers and executives. Anatoly Yakovenko, the project's founder, organized a team that consisted of former Dropbox engineers and more.
Solana is a high-performance network that launched alongside a derivative DEX called Serum which gave the platform exceptional performance. The Solana network features an open infrastructure with full support for smart contracts and Dapps. This structure makes the protocol ideal for developers. Notably, Solana hosts a variety of popular projects including KIN, KIK messenger's crypto.
What Problems was Algorand Built to Alleviate?
When you review Algorand's features and services the first thing you notice is that it was designed to ease some onboarding issues with both developers and users. The developers were able to make the network more inviting through a variety of cool options including no coding requirements. This approach was created to empower anyone to use the network’s features.
Algorand has an excellent selection of options including the ability to mint new tokens, tokenize items, DeFi options, and NFT support. Algorand makes it simple to place integrated requirements on tokens which makes it ideal for security tokens as well.
Lack of Scalability
When Solana entered the market, Ethereum was in the midst of massive scalability issues. Scalability concerns have haunted early blockchains since day one. Solana integrates a PoS consensus mechanism to improve scalability across the network. This feature introduces a 2.34-second block time making it ideal for a variety of applications.
Lack of Interoperability
Another major issue that Algorand developers wanted to reduce was the growing divide between traditional and blockchain finance. Algorand seeks to drive integration through simplification. The network empowers developers to create more immersive and helpful applications that enable users to secure low-risk rewards from day one.
What Problems was Solana Built to Alleviate?
Solana was developed to provide the market with a more flexible and capable decentralized architecture. Solana features a developer-friendly interface and can support all Defi options currently in the market. Additionally, The network leverages a PoS consensus mechanism to improve its transactions per second.
Algorand vs Solana
Lack of Scalability
When you compare Solana's performance to gen-2 blockchains the difference is noticeable. For example, when Solana launched Ethereum could only handle 13 tps. In comparison, Solana has been clocked at 29,171 tps. This improvement makes Solana a great fit for developers who seek to create large Dapps that will need to support already massive communities like the KIK messenger user base. Solana combines excellent transaction settlement speed with the ability to scale bandwidth vertically.
How Does Algorand Work?
Algorand blockchain is a layer 1 network that is open to the public to create. The protocol operates as pure code and is permissionless and censorship-resistant. Network users can stake their algo to help validate the state of the network. For their efforts, they receive rewards in the form of ALGO.
One of the coolest features about ALGO is that there is no minimum to stake. You can stake 1 ALGO if that is all you have. Notably, ALGO is a limited supply token with a total issuance set at 10,000,000,000 tokens. Algo users enjoy a host of features such as AlgoFi. This feature is the network’s Peer-to-Peer lending system.
The Algorand Foundation
The Algorand Foundation is a non-profit that helps to develop the community. This group provides support for projects that have the potential to improve Algorand adoption. They also conduct valuable research to help steer the project's future in the right direction.
How Does Solana Work?
The Solana ecosystem consists of a variety of new protocols to help keep the network secure and scalable. The blockchain operates using a new concept called Proof-of-History (PoH). This system leverages a cryptographic clock to improve the time it takes to validate the state of the blockchain.
Solana is unique in many regards. From the validation perspective, the network is one of only a select few that allows validators to vote on which ledger is correct. The main advantage of this approach is that it enables anyone to see the sequence of transactions quickly. Additionally, the system records the votes as another form of validation.
Parallel Smart Contracts
Solana is so fast for another reason. It can run parallel smart contracts using the sea level protocol. It enables similar smart contracts to leverage similarities to cut down on processing time. The network already supports thousands of smart contracts running simultaneously for different applications.
Data Distribution
Solana is the first blockchain to leverage the Turbine broadcasting system. This protocol breaks data down into more manageable packets. These packets can be sent faster and use less computational power. As such, Turbines improve efficiency considerably.
How to Buy Algorand (ALGO) and Solana (SOL)
Currently, Algorand (ALGO) and Solana (SOL) are each available for purchase on the following exchanges:
Uphold – This is one of the top exchanges for United States & UK residents that offers a wide range of cryptocurrencies. Germany & Netherlands are prohibited.
Uphold Disclaimer: Terms Apply. Cryptoassets are highly volatile. Your capital is at risk. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment, and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong..
Kraken – Founded in 2011, Kraken is one of the most trusted names in the industry with over 9,000,000 users, and over $207 billion in quarterly trading volume.
The Kraken exchange offers trading access to over 190 countries including Australia, Canada, Europe, and is a top exchange for USA residents. (Excluding New York & Washington state).
Algorand Vs. Solana – Capable Gen 3 Networks
Now that you have a better understanding of the unique characteristics of each system, you can now decide what system suits your needs. Developers continue to seek out the differences between Algorand and Solana when they create new Dapps that require low operating costs and high scalability. For these reasons, both networks should see further adoption moving forward. You can learn more about Algorand here and Solana here.
