Solana (SOL)
SOL is used in two ways: Pay for transaction fees: Though Solana's fees are supposed to be cheaper than those of other cryptocurrencies, it still charges a fee to send transactions or run smart contracts, the blockchain-based computer programs that cut out intermediaries from digital transactions. Smart contracts are the building blocks of more complicated apps on Solana, such as finance apps or apps for music streaming. Staking: Like many other blockchains, Solana is secured through a consensus mechanism. People who want to help secure the cryptocurrency by being a "validator," can "stake" some of their SOL, or lock it up to secure the network and earn money while doing so. Solana is an inflationary cryptocurrency with no hard cap on the total number of tokens. It has a starting annual inflation rate of 8%, which will decrease by 15% every year until it reaches 1.5%, which will be the fixed long-term rate. Thirty-seven percent of the SOL tokens that were init...