12 June 2025
What Is Solana in Plain English?
A beginner-friendly explanation of what Solana is, how it processes transactions, and why people talk about its speed.
Solana is a public blockchain network — a shared digital ledger where many computers agree on the same record of transactions. If you have only heard the name in passing, this article gives you the vocabulary to read further without getting lost.
A ledger shared by many computers
Imagine a notebook that thousands of people maintain together. Every time someone sends value or updates data, a new line is added. No single person owns the notebook, and everyone can check that the entries follow the rules.
Solana is one such network. Its native currency is SOL, used to pay small transaction fees and to participate in staking.
Why people mention speed
Early blockchains processed transactions slowly — sometimes minutes per transfer. Solana was designed to handle many transactions in parallel. The network uses a mechanism called Proof of History to order events efficiently, which is why you often see words like “fast” or “high throughput” in descriptions.
For a reader, the practical point is simpler: most Solana transactions confirm in under a second and cost a fraction of a penny in fees.
Accounts, not just addresses
On Solana, the word account appears everywhere. An account can hold SOL, store data for an application, or represent a program. This is different from some networks where “address” and “account” are used interchangeably.
When you read “the program writes to an account,” think of it as the program saving information to a specific slot on the shared ledger.
What you can do on Solana
People use Solana for transferring SOL, creating tokens (including NFTs), running decentralised applications, and staking to help secure the network. Each activity has its own vocabulary, which our glossary covers in detail.
Words to learn next
If this article made sense, continue with these terms in our glossary: lamport, confirmation, SPL token, and program. For wallet vocabulary, read our article on wallet types explained.
A note on independence
This article is educational. Solana Glossary Hub is an independent resource and is not affiliated with Solana or the Solana Foundation.