How to Buy Solana (SOL)
Beginner’s Guide
What Is Solana (SOL) ?
Solana is a highly functional open source project that banks on blockchain technology’s permissionless nature to provide decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions. While the idea and initial work on the project began in 2017, Solana was officially launched in March 2020 by the Solana Foundation with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
To learn more about this project, check out our deep dive of Solana.
The Solana protocol is designed to facilitate decentralized app (DApp) creation. It aims to improve scalability by introducing a proof-of-history (PoH) consensus combined with the underlying proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus of the blockchain.
Because of the innovative hybrid consensus model, Solana enjoys interest from small-time traders and institutional traders alike. A significant focus for the Solana Foundation is to make decentralized finance accessible on a larger scale.
How to Buy Solana Summary
- Get a Solana wallet (e.g. Ledger, Trezor ,Guardia, Exodus , AtomicWallet)
- Find an exchange that sells Solana (e.g. Binance, Coinbase, Kucoin, Bitfinex , ByBit)
- Deposit money and make the trade
- Withdraw the Solana to your wallet
Buying Solana in 3 Simple Steps
Step 1 – Get a SOL wallet
Solana (SOL) Hardware Wallets
Solana (SOL) is a popular cryptocurrency that can be stored on various hardware wallets to keep it secure. Here are some of the most popular hardware wallets that support Solana:
Ledger Nano S: The Ledger Nano S is a popular hardware wallet that supports Solana (SOL) along with other cryptocurrencies. It has a secure chip and two-factor authentication to protect your assets.
Ledger Nano X: The Ledger Nano X is an upgraded version of the Ledger Nano S with more storage capacity and Bluetooth connectivity. It also supports Solana (SOL) and other cryptocurrencies.
Trezor Model T: The Trezor Model T is a hardware wallet that supports Solana (SOL) and other cryptocurrencies. It has a touch screen and advanced security features to keep your assets safe.
KeepKey: KeepKey is a hardware wallet that supports Solana (SOL) and other cryptocurrencies. It has a large screen and a sleek design for ease of use.
Ledger Blue: The Ledger Blue is a premium hardware wallet that supports Solana (SOL) and other cryptocurrencies. It has a large touchscreen display and advanced security features for maximum protection.
It’s important to note that hardware wallets come at a cost, but they provide a higher level of security than software wallets. You should do your own research and choose the wallet that best suits your needs and budget.
The best option for storing any cryptocurrency would be to use a hardware wallet. These are pieces of hardware that store the private key to your coins offline.
Today, there are two leading hardware manufacturers to choose from – Ledger and TREZOR. Both companies have different models of hardware wallets that will get the job done.
If you want deeper insights on specific models, you can read my Ledger Nano X review or my TREZOR Model T review.
Solana (SOL) Software Wallets
If you’re looking to store your Solana (SOL) cryptocurrency in a software wallet, there are several options available to you. Here are some of the most popular Solana software wallets:
Solflare: Solflare is a popular software wallet for Solana (SOL) that is easy to use and offers great security. It is an online wallet that is accessible from anywhere, and it has advanced security features such as two-factor authentication and multisignature support.
Sollet: Sollet is a web-based wallet that is designed specifically for Solana (SOL) and other Solana-based tokens. It is a great option for users who want a simple and easy-to-use wallet that can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection.
Trust Wallet: Trust Wallet is a mobile wallet that supports Solana (SOL) and many other cryptocurrencies. It is available for both iOS and Android devices, and it offers advanced security features such as biometric authentication and multisignature support.
Exodus: Exodus is a desktop and mobile wallet that supports Solana (SOL) and many other cryptocurrencies. It has a user-friendly interface and offers great security features such as two-factor authentication and backup seed phrases.
Atomic Wallet: Atomic Wallet is a desktop and mobile wallet that supports Solana (SOL) and many other cryptocurrencies. It has a sleek design and offers advanced security features such as biometric authentication and multisignature support.
When choosing a software wallet, it’s important to choose a wallet that is reputable and has a track record of security. You should also ensure that you keep your backup seed phrase safe and secure in case you need to recover your wallet.
Hardware wallets cost money, so if you’re not sure how serious you are about cryptocurrencies and just want to get a taste of what they feel like, perhaps you would be better off starting with a software wallet.
A software wallet is a free program that lets you store your coins on your computer or mobile phone.
The easiest Oasis Network software wallets to get started with are undoubtedly Exodus, AtomicWallet and Guarda . All wallets are very intuitive. Exodus, Atomic Wallet and Guarda is available on desktop for Windows, Mac and Linux, as well as on mobile for both iOS and Android. If you want more information you can read my Exodus, AtomicWallet and Guarda review.
Step 2 – Find an Solana (SOL) Exchange
Buy Solana through Binance
- Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange which is the largest exchange in the world in terms of daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies. It was founded in 2017 and is registered in the Cayman Islands. Binance was founded by Changpeng Zhao, a developer who had previously created high frequency trading software.
Buy Solana through Coinbase
- Coinbase is a convenient and cheap way to buy Ethereum and the platform is open to 100+ countries). Coinbase will sell you LTC for a variable fee that depends on your payment method (credit cards have a higher fee than wire transfers), order size and market volatility. Here’s how you buy Ethereum on Coinbase: Open a Coinbase account Add your payment method (Credit card or bank account) Go to “Buy/Sell” and select the amount of Ethereum you desire Click “Buy Litecoin”
Buy Solana through Kucoin
- Kucoin is a global cryptocurrency exchange for numerous digital assets and cryptocurrencies. Launched in September 2017, KuCoin has grown into one of the most popular crypto exchanges and already has over 8 million registered users from 700+ countries and regions. According to Alexa traffic ranking, KuCoin’s monthly unique ranking is in the top 5 globally. Known as the “People’s Exchange”, KuCoin operates in Seychelles, providing users with multi-language and 24/7 customer service. Meanwhile, KuCoin has established local communities all over the world in South Korea, Japan, Spain, Italy, Vietnam, Turkey, Russia, India, and other regions, providing users with the most local services. Currently, 1 out of every 4 crypto holders in the world is with KuCoin.
Buy Solana through Bitfinex
- Bitfinex is a cryptocurrency exchange owned and operated by iFinex Inc registered in the British Virgin Islands.Their customers’ money has been stolen or lost in several incidents, and they have been unable to secure normal banking relationships.Bitfinex was founded in December 2012 as a peer-to-peer Bitcoin exchange, offering digital asset trading services to users around the world. Bitfinex initially started as a P2P margin lending platform for Bitcoin and later added support for more cryptocurrencies.
Buy Solana through Bybit
- The exchange prides itself on delivering multilingual online support to its customers and is committed to providing a transparent and efficient trading experience. The products on the platform include BTC/USD, ETH/USD, LTC/USD, and XRP/USD perpetual contracts. A perpetual contract resembles a traditional futures contract in many ways. Its main difference, however, is that it doesn’t have an expiry date. Hence, traders are allowed to hold their positions for as long as they need to.Moreover, the exchange boasts a 100,000 TPS state-of-the-art matching engine. While many of its competitors have suffered from repeated overload problems, this high-performance matching engine makes it possible for Bybit to stand above the competition.The Bybit cryptocurrency broker platform is operated by the Bybit Fintech Limited which is registered on the British Virgin Islands, with headquarters in Singapore. The company was launched in March 2018, making it a fairly young player on the market.
Step 3 – Withdraw Your Solana (SOL)
Once you decide on an exchange, open an account and buy your Solana. Make sure to withdraw the Solana from the exchange to your personal wallet.
Never leave coins on an exchange, as you risk losing them all if that exchange gets hacked or shuts down (which has happened in the past).
OVERVIEW
Who Are the Founders of Solana?
Solana was founded by Anatoly Yakovenko, Greg Fitzgerald, Eric Williams, Raj Gokal, and Stephen Akridge in 2017. Anatoly Yakovenko is the current CEO of Solana and has a background in software engineering, having worked previously at Qualcomm and Dropbox. Greg Fitzgerald is the CTO of Solana and has experience in computer networking, having previously worked at Cisco and Qualcomm. Eric Williams is the Chief Scientist of Solana and has a background in computer engineering, having previously worked at Qualcomm and Intel. Raj Gokal is the Chief Marketing Officer of Solana and has experience in brand management, having previously worked at Facebook and Google. Stephen Akridge is the Chief Operating Officer of Solana and has a background in finance, having previously worked at Goldman Sachs and Barclays. Together, they have built Solana into a high-performance blockchain platform that can handle large-scale decentralized applications.
What Makes Solana Unique?
One of the essential innovations Solana brings to the table is the proof-of-history (PoH) consensus developed by Anatoly Yakovenko. This concept allows for greater scalability of the protocol, which in turn boosts usability.
Solana is known in the cryptocurrency space because of the incredibly short processing times the blockchain offers. Solana’s hybrid protocol allows for significantly decreased validation times for both transaction and smart contract execution. With lightning-fast processing times, Solana has attracted a lot of institutional interest as well.
The Solana protocol is intended to serve both small-time users and enterprise customers alike. One of Solana’s main promises to customers is that they will not be surprised by increased fees and taxes. The protocol is designed in such a way as to have low transaction costs while still guaranteeing scalability and fast processing.
Combined with the longstanding professional expertise creators Anatoly Yakovenko and Greg Fitzgerald bring to the project, Solana is ranked number 7 in the CoinMarketCap ranking as of September 2021.
This came on the back of an impressive bull run, where Solana price gained over 700% since mid-July 2021. The launch of the Degenerate Ape NFT collection sent SOL price to an all-time high (ATH) above $60, and it has been climbing since, largely due to higher developer activity on the Solana ecosystem, greater institutional interest, growing DeFi ecosystem, and the rise of the NFTs and gaming vertical on Solana. Solana price rose to an ATH of $216 on Sept. 9, 2021.
Solana has received much praise for its speed and performance, and has even been tipped as a rival that can compare to Ethereum and challenge the dominant smart contract platform. However, the network has been plagued by repeated outages that have impaired its price and aspirations to be the “Visa of crypto.” Furthermore, its ecosystem is accused of favoring venture capital investors with unfair tokenomics.
How Many Solana (SOL) Coins Are There in Circulation?
The Solana Foundation has announced that a total of 489 million SOL tokens will be released in circulation. At the moment, about 260 million of these have already entered the market.
The SOL token distribution is as follows: 16.23% went towards an initial seed sale, 12.92% of tokens were dedicated to a founding sale, 12.79% of SOL coins were distributed among team members and 10.46% of tokens were given to the Solana Foundation. The remaining tokens were already released for public and private sales or are still to be released to the market.
Solana price during the initial seed sale, held on April 5, 2018, was $0.04. Given the recent ATH, that represents an impressive 5400X return on investment (ROI).
How Is the Solana Network Secured?
Solana relies on a unique combination of proof-of-history (PoH) and proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanisms.
Proof-of-history is the main component of the Solana protocol, as it is responsible for the bulk of transaction processing. PoH records successful operations and the time that has passed between them, thus ensuring the trustless nature of the blockchain.
The proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus is used as a monitoring tool for the PoH processes, and it validates each sequence of blocks produced by it.
The combination of two consensus mechanisms makes Solana a unique phenomenon in the blockchain industry.
Where Can You Buy Solana ?
Solana (SOL) can be purchased on a variety of cryptocurrency exchanges, including:
Binance: Binance is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world and supports trading pairs for SOL with Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Tether (USDT), and Binance Coin (BNB).
Coinbase Pro: Coinbase Pro is a popular cryptocurrency exchange that supports trading pairs for SOL with Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Tether (USDT), and US dollars (USD).
Huobi: Huobi is a global cryptocurrency exchange that supports trading pairs for SOL with Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Tether (USDT), and Huobi Token (HT).
Kraken: Kraken is a popular cryptocurrency exchange that supports trading pairs for SOL with Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and US dollars (USD).
When buying Solana or any cryptocurrency, it’s important to choose a reputable exchange with high liquidity and good security measures. It’s also important to consider the fees, payment methods, and availability in your country before making a purchase.