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Solana (SOL)

What is Solana?​

Here are 5 key points about the Solana Blockchain:

  • Solana uses the Proof of History (PoH) consensus mechanism that helps to create a historical record of when transactions occurred, significantly increasing the speed and efficiency of the network validation process.

  • Solana is capable of processing over 50,000 transactions per second, making it one of the fastest blockchains in the industry.

  • The fees on Solana are extremely low, often costing less than $0.01 per transaction, which is advantageous for both developers and users participating in the network.

  • Supports high-growth and high-frequency applications without the need for layer two solutions or off-chain enhancements, offering substantial scalability natively within its layer one infrastructure.

  • Solana's architecture achieves transaction finality in seconds, reducing the wait time for confirmations and enhancing the overall user experience.

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Learn more about Solana by reading the Gem Wallet Learn article:

What Is The Solana Blockchain?

Solana on Gem Wallet​

Gem Wallet has the following features enabled for Solana:

Solana on Gem Wallet Swapping SOL to USDC

What are SPL tokens?​

SPL tokens is a token standard on the Solana blockchain with the following features:

  • Similar to ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum, they facilitate the creation, exchange, and management of tokens within the Solana ecosystem.
  • SPL tokens are designed to be easily integrated with various applications and services on Solana, promoting seamless interactions and transactions across different decentralized applications (dApps).
  • The quick transaction processing times and minimal fees on Solana is also applicable to SPL tokens, enhancing usability and performance for token holders and developers.

Solana and USDC-SPL SPL tokens on Gem Wallet

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Learn more about SPL tokens from this Gem Wallet Learn article:

What Is SPL and What You Need to Know About Tokens on the Solana Blockchain

How to Get Solana?​

Here are some ways to acquire some Solana (SOL):

  • Buy Solana (SOL) directly on the Gem Wallet app.
  • Receive SOL with the unique Solana address on the Gem Wallet app.
  • Swap SPL tokens to SOL. This requires that you already have SOL on your wallet to pay for fees.

Buying Solana with Gem Wallet Receive Solana on Gem Wallet

Transaction Fees on the Solana Blockchain​

The fees on Solana are summarized as follows:

  • Transaction fees on the Solana blockchain are notably low, typically costing less than $0.01 per transaction.
  • Fees on Solana are used to compensate validators for the computational and bandwidth resources they expend to process transactions and run the network.
  • Solana employs a fee-relay system that allows transaction fees to remain stable and predictable despite fluctuations in network activity.

Network Fee when Sending SOL Network Fee when Swapping SPL tokens

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You can check the current priority fees on Solana by going to this site, Solana Priority Fee Tracker.

How to Check Solana (SOL) Balance?​

Gem Wallet app connects to the Solana (SOL) blockchain to show the SOL balance on your wallet. Tap on the 3 dots at the upper right corner, then tap on View address on SolanaFM.

Solana Balance on Gem Wallet View Address on SolanaFM

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SolanaFM is the default SOL explorer of Gem Wallet. You can manually check balances and transactions by going to SolanaFM and search for your SOL address.

Checking Solana Balance on SolanaFM Checking Solana Transaction on Blockchair