In a brand new report, US-based hedge fund Pantera Capital has posited Solana because the ‘Mac OS’ of blockchains, paralleling its developmental technique and potential influence to that of Apple’s famend working system. Authored by Franklin Bi, Cosmo Jiang and Eric Wallach, the report delves deep into the structural dynamics and strategic positioning of blockchains inside the tech business.
The report begins by addressing a typical question concerning the future panorama of blockchain expertise: “What number of blockchains should exist?” Reasonably than specializing in the quantity, the Pantera workforce suggests a unique perspective: “What’s the least variety of blockchains wanted to succeed in the expertise’s full potential?” This strategy goals to know the important traits that can permit sure blockchains to dominate the market.
The analogy to historic tech oligopolies is powerful. “Traditionally, developer-facing applied sciences have converged round a small variety of dominant gamers – sometimes oligopolies of two or three, every with a definite strategy catering to totally different developer preferences.” It attracts on examples from the evolution of working programs, gaming consoles, and cellular platforms to foretell the same trajectory for blockchains.
Why Solana Stands Out
In response to the Pantera Capital workforce, Solana is rising as a formidable contender within the blockchain house, akin to Apple throughout the rise of private computing. “The shift is paying homage to Microsoft’s dominance of the early desktop pc market, till Apple broke by means of with its vertically built-in strategy,” the report notes, suggesting that Solana’s built-in and monolithic structure may give it the same aggressive edge.
The report elaborates on a number of benefits of SOL’s structure. First, Solana’s cohesive blockchain design avoids the complexities of bridging a number of chains, which simplifies each growth and person interplay.
By controlling its whole stack, the mission can rapidly iterate and implement upgrades, an important issue within the fast-paced blockchain surroundings. Third, the diminished dependency on exterior elements and a simplified structure lower potential failure factors, enhancing the general stability and safety of the platform.
The authors additionally spotlight particular functions that showcase Solana’s capabilities and its influence on each builders and end-users. DRiP, a platform for distributing free collectibles, exemplifies how Solana’s excessive throughput and low transaction prices facilitate huge, cost-effective distributions of NFTs.
Equally, Hivemapper leverages Solana’s effectivity to course of massive volumes of geographic information collected from drones and dashcams, offering real-time, decentralized mapping options that would problem established providers like Google Maps.
The report additionally underscores the blockchain’s development metrics: “Solana’s distinctive lively addresses have skyrocketed […] showcasing the platform’s staggering development in person exercise,” additional supported by information illustrating a surge in transaction charges and decentralized trade volumes, which point out sturdy and rising demand for SOL’s choices.
Concluding their evaluation, the Pantera workforce expresses robust confidence in Solana’s future trajectory. “As extra builders acknowledge some great benefits of constructing on Solana, we will count on to see a rising variety of modern tasks that capitalize on its high-performance blockchain,” they predict. This sentiment is bolstered by a strong developer ecosystem and a vibrant group, that are seen as essential to the flexibility to outpace opponents and obtain sustained development and relevance.
At press time, SOL traded at $123.90.
Featured picture from Bitget, chart from TradingView.com