Critics or goodness forbid bears of cryptocurrencies are not having a great time this year. Sure, digital assets have taken a bit of a dive recently, with a stronger U.S. dollar and other rumblings both domestic and international imposing their will on the sector. Nevertheless, crypto optimists have seen such volatility before and thus remain interested in buying coins like Solana (CCC:SOL-USD).
To be clear, plenty of virtual currencies have spiked higher based on mass euphoria — and I don’t think SOL-USD is any exception. However, it would be wrong to state that Solana is merely a byproduct of the crypto sentiment boom. Fundamentally, Solana brings improvements to the blockchain industry that don’t just make it distinct but genuinely unique.
If you consider cryptos from a bird’s-eye-view, you’ll recognize the stages of the blockchain technology’s evolution. At first, we had the blockchain itself, which proved that one could send digital assets to another person across borders without the need of a third-party intermediary. Thus was born the concept of trustless transactions.
However, computer programmers quickly discovered that trustless platforms can do more than just accommodate peer-to-peer transactions. Indeed, through the blockchain, it was now possible to facilitate other transactions, such as market making or even real estate acquisitions. The resultant smart contract represented the second major development in the space.
Still, as Solana demonstrated, there was more room for improvement. To make a long story short, verifications of blockchain transactions focus on recording the activity itself. However, Solana — to my understanding — is the first project to implement a trustless component regarding time.
In other words, through Solana, parties to a transaction can trust not only that a transaction occurred but also when it happened. Simply put, it’s a better mousetrap.
Solana Intrigues Within the Blockchain’s Exclusive Context
According to the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, you “will not catch a rat with a mouse trap, and you will not catch a mouse with a rat trap.” Oh no, another random thought from out of left field, you must be saying to yourself.
But in attempting to assess the future trajectory of Solana, I can’t help but think about the correlation between the blockchain and mousetraps. Like the distributed decentralized public ledger, mousetraps have undergone multiple improvements over the years.
Of course, everyone’s familiar with the standard mousetrap that snaps the target rodent’s neck. With such a device, this allowed human operators to do whatever they wanted to do while the trap did its thing. However, such traps are kill traps, which can be unpleasant for certain individuals. Further, once a mouse activates the trap, that’s it.
More advanced and creative mousetraps allow users to trap several mice. In addition, they can be modified to be either kill or live traps, enabling the user to dispatch humanely (typically with carbon dioxide). That’s all fine and well but what if you had a rat problem?
Well, the obvious answer to that question is that you simply get a rat trap. But that’s exactly the problem for Solana and any other blockchain-based asset. While it may provide the best mousetrap in the mousetrapping market, the majority of the global population runs on the rats of fiat currencies.
When you read the description behind the structure and advantages of Solana, it’s hard not to get excited. You see the buzzwords that excite people into a frenzy: speed, scalability, trustless, frictionless … whatever.
But these words matter within the context of the blockchain. But offchain is where the real action happens.
SOL Needs More Than a Great Story
Again, don’t misconstrue what I’m saying. If the global economy becomes decentralized and we end up replacing our fiat currencies with crypto, Solana would be the project and the coins that would be at or near the top of my buy list. Its incorporation of time makes it a truly multidimensional blockchain.
I’m just not convinced that government bodies will be so willing to give up their power. You see, big government doesn’t necessarily have a great story to tell you, unlike blockchain projects. Instead, government’s power is force and the very real threat of violence if you don’t comply.
You’re just not going to get that kind of pressure from Solana or any crypto project, no matter how advanced and convenient. With decentralization, you can choose to participate or not participate at will. That’s what makes decentralization fascinating but also why it lacks sustainable credibility.
On the date of publication, Josh Enomoto did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
A former senior business analyst for Sony Electronics, Josh Enomoto has helped broker major contracts with Fortune Global 500 companies. Over the past several years, he has delivered unique, critical insights for the investment markets, as well as various other industries including legal, construction management, and healthcare.
