Up And Coming Projects Accelerate Solana’s Growing Dominance Within The DeFi Ecosystem

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As Ethereum’s problems continue to rise, its biggest competitor, Solana, is gaining significant traction. Often referred to as the “Ethereum Killer,” Solana has delivered a spectacular upward movement this calendar year.

Solana is currently the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, numbering roughly USD 62 billion after increasing manifold in 2021. The project began 2021 with a value of USD 1.82 per token before reaching its all-time high of USD 260.06 last month. This explosive growth underlines the potential of the Solana ecosystem as the go-to hub for next-gen blockchain and DeFi projects. 

Ethereum currently dominates the DeFi landscape. However, as the number of DeFi dApps and protocols grew, the Ethereum network faced extreme network congestion levels. As a result, gas costs shot through the roof, which led to projects seeking alternatives to Ethereum.

Amidst the rising demand for Ethereum alternatives and the unprecedented growth of the DeFi sector, Solana emerged as a next-gen blockchain network that is more efficient, fast, and scalable than its behemoth counterpart. 

The decentralized blockchain-based computing platform offers smart contract functionalities similar to Ethereum but uses a different programming language (Rust). Additionally, compared to Ethereum’s 30 TPS (transactions per second), Solana offers a processing rate of 50,000 TPS by using a combination of proof-of-stake (PoS) and proof-of-history (PoH) consensus algorithms.

Currently, the Solana blockchain is home to more than 400 projects spanning NFTs, P2E games, DeFi, Web3, and more. Prominent names within the DeFi industry, like FTX and Alameda Research, leverage Solana’s speed and scalability. The total value locked (TVL) in Solana has already crossed USD 14 billion, with a consortium of promising projects like Serum (a high-speed, non-custodial DEX), Ray (an on-chain orderbook AMM for DeFi), Marinade Finance, Quarry, Orca, Saber, Apricot Finance, and hundreds more already live on the network’s mainnet.

While hundreds of promising projects are under development on the Solana infrastructure, let’s take a closer look at two promising DeFi projects that aim to bring an array of new features to the network.

Atani Delivers The Most Advanced DEX Aggregator To Solana 

Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) came to our rescue when security (and control) became problems for centralized exchanges (CEXs). Since there were no third parties or central authorities, DEXs soon gained popularity among the crypto community.

However, dozens of DEXs popped up over time, each serving to certain communities within the cryptoverse. Accordingly, the liquidity fragmented, leading to significant price differentials across platforms and other similar problems.

DEX Aggregators were designed to overcome this problem by acting as a “unified aggregator.” They effectively “aggregate” liquidity from multiple DEXs and offer users optimized swap rates, price, and slippage than what they would ideally receive from an individual DEX.

Over the last couple of years, many DEX Aggregators have been introduced, mainly for Ethereum. Atani is breaking the pattern by launching its Atani DEX Aggregator on Solana. This aggregator features advanced tools and features, including the typical order automation tools and advanced portfolio tracking, price analysis, technical analysis, and more. Additionally, the Atani DEX Aggregator also supports free SMS, call, and email alerts to ensure users never miss a trade opportunity again.

Developed by a team of crypto professionals, the Atani DEX Aggregator for the Solana ecosystem has the capability of becoming the world’s leading DEX aggregator by eliminating fragmentation and ensuring the best trading experience. Atani is also building bridges that connect centralized exchanges (CEXs) and DEXs, cementing itself as the ‘de facto’ gateway to the Solana DeFi ecosystem for CEX users. The aggregator will also feature multi-chain support and a zero-fee policy.

Solana’s DeFi Lending Protocol With On-Chain Credit Scoring

Soda Protocol recently launched its innovative DeFi lending protocol on Solana. Built by DeFi, Web3, and blockchain veterans, Soda Protocol aims to improve capital efficiency for the entire DeFi ecosystem while introducing the Solana blockchain network’s first-of-its-kind “credit ranking” system.

The platform serves three core areas, the first of which is its basic DeFi lending service that is quite similar to competitors like AAVE and Compound. As part of its lending service, Soda Protocol also offers flash loans, easy repayments, flash liquidation, and other DeFi products like arbitrage and lossless yield farming.

For its second core service, Soda Protocol introduces the first-ever on-chain credit rating system called Sol ID, which intends to bring a paradigm shift in the current DeFi ecosystem. By collecting and analyzing on-chain behavioral data, credit models, and profiles, Sol ID generates a credit rating for each user. This rating will play a crucial role when users participate in DeFi programs across other partner platforms or need access to governance, price drops, and limited IDO allocations.

Finally, Soda Protocol offers composability modules via the Soda API. These composability modules allow partner DeFi projects to acquire Sol ID data to verify a user’s credit profile for utilities and discrimination. At the same time, it will enable users to borrow funds under-collateralized (or credit loans) based on the corresponding credit.

While market experts say Solana may dethrone Ethereum in the long term, only time will tell how things play out. The promised ETH 2.0 upgrade for Ethereum will play a critical role in shaping the competition for DeFi if and when it is rolled out. But in the meantime, Solana already provides better features and functionality than Ethereum, especially when it comes to speed, scalability, and cost-efficiency – attributes every DeFi developer demands.