For decentralized applications (dApps) and decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, Solana (SOL) is a quick and safe blockchain platform. A variety of DeFi protocols, dApps, tools, and services are all part of the Solana ecosystem, which enables developers to create applications on top of the Solana platform. On the Solana network, SOL is used to pay transaction fees and as a governance token that entitles holders to vote on platform updates and modifications.
Right now, it ranks among the fastest blockchains available. As a result, it is a very popular option for both users and investors looking for a solid rival in the dApp market. With its speed and price, it even outperforms Ethereum, the most widely used option.
However, which Solana-based projects are worth investing in 2023?
Let’s explore it in more detail.
What is Solana?
A high-performance blockchain network called Solana was created in 2020. Its architecture is made to be extremely effective and expandable. Solana has a significantly higher transaction processing speed (TPS) than the majority of other networks, with a capacity of over 65,000 TPS. Additionally, it supports smart contracts and has lower fees.
It is a Proof of History (PoH) and Proof of Stake (PoS)-based high throughput blockchain. Solana was created by a group of networking engineers to become the blockchain infrastructure for contemporary web applications. The native currency of Solana is SOL, which can be used to pay transaction costs and for staking to maintain the network.
What sets Solana apart?
In 2020, Anatoly Yakovenko developed Solana to address the drawbacks of blockchains that came before it. Older blockchains could support a large number of decentralized applications, but they were limited by their inability to scale. Solana employs a novel consensus method called Proof of History to get around this.
The use of proof of history by Solana is crucial for spreading awareness of blockchains. In comparison to more traditional solutions like Bitcoin and Ethereum, it allows the platform to process transactions thousands of times faster.
What is Solana’s Proof of History?
As was already mentioned, Solana uses a special consensus mechanism called “proof of history.” It establishes a uniform timekeeping system for the blockchain. Unlike older blockchains, all transactions are timestamped. As a result, each transaction is completed in the order that it is received.
The timestamp also speeds up communication between nodes, which is a time-consuming step in validation. Transactions can be confirmed much more quickly than on other blockchains because nodes do not need to communicate to validate time.
Here’s the list of Solana projects you should look out for in 2023:
Raydium:
Using the central order book of the Serum decentralized exchange (DEX), Raydium (RAY), a Solanablockchain-based automated market maker (AMM), aims to provide blazing-fast transactions, pooled liquidity, and additional features for making money. A decentralized exchange (DEX) mechanism known as an automated market maker (AMM) uses a formula to price assets. Users of the platform can swap and exchange cryptocurrencies.
Additionally, users can gain extra rewards by yield farming and staking. Other protocols can access the liquidity in their pool, while Ethereum slows down transactions and raises gas prices. The platform claims to be distinct from other DEXs because it works to address the aforementioned problems.
A trading interface of the platform that aims to let users set limit orders and manage their trading is another feature of Raydium. Project owners can also use the platform’s launchpad to power their projects. Any user who wishes to develop a platform on Solana is welcome to do so.
Additionally, each user who first uses the platform must sign up for the Solana Program Library (SPL) wallet. The SPL wallet lets users access the platform’s features while storing user funds on the blockchain network. To make any transactions on Solana, users also need SOL (Solana) in their SPL wallet.
At the time of writing, RAY has a market cap of $52,808,210 and is trading at $0.2948.
Mercurial Finance:
Solana’s first multi-token stable swap is Mercurial. It is a decentralized finance protocol that assists you in maximizing the returns on your Solana assets.
Mercurial vaults are market-making vaults that offer stables low slippage swaps while also improving LP profits through dynamic fees and flexible capital allocation. It employs a dynamic market-making system that automatically allocates capital as needed. Stablecoins are supported by the protocol, and their flow is optimized for efficient liquidity provision.
At the time of writing MER is currently trading at $0.000908 and has a market capitalization of $275,78.
Orca:
In the Solana ecosystem, Orca is one of the biggest decentralized exchanges. It enables quick and effective token exchange. Thanks to the lightning-fast speeds of the Solana network, its performance can compete with Ethereum DEXs. Users can trade tokens on the Orca platform with less latency and transaction fees. By contributing liquidity to the trading pool, users can also profit from trading fees.
The platform wants to create new pools with lower fees in place of the current liquidity pools, which pay liquidity providers a flat fee of 0.3 percent. The fees are used to pay for research and development, control the token supply through buy-backs, and support other initiatives that uphold the Orca protocol.
To gradually decentralize the protocol, Orca uses yield farming to distribute ORCA to liquidity providers. The ORCA token value is tied to the platform by the Orca Treasury, a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). DAO is a business created by developers that streamlines cryptocurrency transactions and automates decision-making.
At the time of writing ORCA is currently trading at $0.88 and has a market capitalization of $33,914,705.
Star Atlas:
Star Atlas is a Solana-based strategy game with role-playing, space flight simulators, and in-game NFTs, all powered by Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5. Space exploration, flight simulation, and strategy are all featured in this sci-fi fantasy game’s high-quality environments. You can travel to various planets, pilot spacecraft from the year 2700, and fully customize your character.
It intends to surpass its rivals by outperforming them in several areas. No blockchain game has, to date, offered as many potential gameplay variations as Star Atlas. No game can do all of the aforementioned simultaneously, though some games let you earn money through staking, compete with other players for virtual goods, or explore the game’s virtual world and form alliances.
On the platform’s market, you can exchange your in-game NFTs and items as well. This gives you a way to monetize your in-game assets and earnings.
The game places a lot of emphasis on player-driven economies, in which players can exchange goods and resources, as well as buy and sell items on the game’s market. Players can influence the game’s economy and build their in-game marketplaces and trade networks, allowing for a high level of player autonomy and emergent gameplay.
At the time of writing ORCA is currently trading at $0.003837 and has a market capitalization of $37,590,446.
Coin 98:
With support for SOL and SPL tokens created on the Solana network, Coin98 is a non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet. Additionally, it has capabilities for crypto on-ramp and payment gateway features. Users have access to cross-chain swaps, staking, and yield farming through this decentralized finance (DeFi) solution.
The opportunity to connect conventional finance and decentralized financial services is provided by Coin 98. This is accomplished by using a wide range of products, such as a cryptocurrency wallet, the Space Gate cross-chain bridge, and its exchange.
The first multi-chain compatible wallet engine, which allows users to interact with multiple wallets of various blockchains simultaneously, with a single passphrase and no complicated switching requirements, is what makes Coin98 Wallet special.
At the time of writing c98 is currently trading at $0.3261 and has a market capitalization of $70,764,330.
Audius:
Audius is a protocol for streaming music that was first built on the POA network but now lives on the Solana network. Audius was made to fix the problems in the music business, which are caused by unclear ownership of music rights and middlemen who stand between artists and their fans.
Audius wants its platform, which is powered by its AUDIO token, to bring together the interests of artists, fans, and node operators. Artists can upload music that fans can listen to for free. The music is stored and shared by content and discovery nodes.
At the moment, Audius rewards content creators by putting them on the weekly trending lists, among other things. In the future, it wants to add stablecoins so that artists can sell paid content and artist tokens so that fans can get access to exclusive content.
Audius is decentralized, so there is no copyright protection. However, the protocol is working on an arbitration system that the community will watch over. Artists can use Audius to try out new things or share bonus tracks.
The platform plans to add artist tokens to help artists make money, but only if they stake AUDIO. Artists can also take part in reward programs that send tokens to the most popular artists through the air.
At the time of writing AUDIO is currently trading at $0.314 and has a market capitalization of $308,779,082.
Civic:
With the aid of the information system Civic, you can manage and protect your identity. By granting you access to platforms without requiring you to share an excessive amount of your data, it transforms the way we think about identity and personal information. Thus, it gives businesses and individuals more control over their data and the authentication process.
By giving users more control over their data and enabling them to access a variety of services without having to divulge excessive amounts of personal information, the platform aims to transform the way we think about identity verification.
Distributed ledger technology is used by Civic’s identity verification solution to authorize identity usage in real time. After user authorization, information is only occasionally shared with Civic partners. The Civic platform has added several smart contracts, a utility token called CVC, and various secure software applications to its platform to improve the customer experience.
Additionally, the Civic ecosystem permits “Users” and “Validators,” two distinct parties, to participate in streamlined identity verification procedures.
At the time of writing CVC is currently trading at $0.1211 and has a market capitalization of $121,071,613.
Larix:
To fully utilize a variety of collateral types securely, the Larix lending protocol on the Solana blockchain adopted a dynamic interest rate model and built more capital-efficient risk management pools.
Additionally, the reward system, which is based on a carefully thought-out token economy, enables continuous incentive distribution to increase demand. Larix reserves the right to accept any VALUABLE assets.
At the time of writing LARIX is currently trading at $0.0002549.
Final Thoughts:
Some of the best Solana projects for 2023 are on this list. It’s also expected to be a better year for cryptocurrencies, so there should be some exciting Solana projects coming up this year. Before you decide to invest in a project, make sure you look at it carefully and learn as much as you can about it.