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Solana is a blockchain network protocol built to achieve high scalability without sacrificing security or decentralization. The network hosts smart contracts capability to enable DeFi Apps (Dapps) similar to the Ethereum network and is known for its low transaction costs.

The work to build Solana protocol began in 2017 by ex-Qualcomm engineer Anatoly Yakovenko and his colleague Greg Fitzgerald, under the project called Solana Labs. The Solana network went live in 2020 with SOL as its native token.

The Solana protocol was one of the first smart contract protocols to claim top tier security and decentralization with low transaction costs. Following are some of its defining features:

• Network speed: Solana network transactions take seconds to execute owing to a unique, Proof-of-History (POH) consensus mechanism.
• Low transaction cost: Transaction cost in the Solana network ranges around a couple of dollars, which is significantly less than legacy smart contract blockchain networks.
• Scalability: The network is capable of supporting 50,000 transactions per second, bringing it on par with network speed in TradFi channels.

The Solana network introduced a novel concept of Proof-of-History (POH), an upgraded implementation of POS. Traditional POS networks have to account for network latency to order and validate transactions. This latency arises due to nodes that are scattered across the globe and may have varying internet speeds. POH uses a cryptographic clock that is unaffected by latency, and it works like an internal stopwatch that can accurately order transactions by the time required to process them.

Solana has been famously referred to as the ‘Ethereum killer’ in the crypto community owing to its scalability capabilities. The SOL token quickly rose through the ranks to become one of the fastest-growing crypto-currencies of 2020. The price of SOL hit $100 for the first time in August 2021, clocking a market cap of $30 billion.

The rise has been anything but smooth for SOL. After an all-time high of $216 in September 2021, the token plummeted as a result of technical issues which questioned the integrity of the network under stressful conditions.

Greyscale was one of the first institutions to show interest in Solana, with the addition of SOL in their portfolio.

Like many other blockchain networks, the transactions on the Solana network are validated by numerous nodes scattered across the globe and are recorded on a public ledger that can be verified by anyone. 

While the network has suffered downtimes in the past, the core consensus architecture used for the security of the transactions and addresses in the protocol is similar to one of the most secure blockchain networks in the industry, like Ethereum. This makes the network quite secure.

The Solana protocol may have taken noteworthy steps towards security, but securing the storage of one’s funds is something out of its reach. Conventional ways of holding cryptocurrencies like centralized crypto exchange accounts and online/hot wallets have several points of failure. Centralized exchanges (CEXs) do not provide full control over one’s assets and online wallets carry the risk of exposure to scams and malicious malware that can disclose private keys.

Hardware/cold wallets offer the paramount level of safety by taking the private keys completely off the grid and storing them in physical storage devices.

One may buy Solana (SOL) from many centralized exchanges available on the web. But this source poses serious security concerns. These exchanges require the disclosure of KYC information for using the platform. Assets bought on centralized exchanges do not provide true ownership and complete control over the private keys. This defeats the core values digital assets are built upon.

Ledger lets its user simultaneously purchase and transfer the bought SOL into the Ledger hardware wallet, thus providing sovereign control over the user’s private keys. Ledger Live lets users directly manage and track their investments’ performance with a desktop and mobile application.

The process to use Ledger services is pretty simple. It even enables the use of a PayPal account or Debit/Credit card for the purchase of SOL. Follow the following simple steps:

• Get a Ledger Hardware Wallet. 
• Download Ledger Live on a web or mobile device. 
• Create a designated Solana account after setting up Ledger Live. 
• Install the Solana application on the hardware wallet from the Ledger Live dashboard. 
• Start buying SOL using Ledger Live and its partners: Coinify and Wyre.

Users also can swap or trade Solana on Ledger for other cryptocurrencies for a dynamic and diversified portfolio that maximizes returns. The hundred of swap pairs available on Ledger can be accessed as follows:

• Get a Ledger Hardware Wallet.
• Download Ledger Live.
• Install the ‘Exchange’ application on Ledger Live, along with the applications for the coins you wish to swap.
• One must have SOL in the linked hardware wallet to facilitate the swap. 
• Once there are sufficient assets in the wallet, swapping is possible.