Solana vs. Cardano: Rivals in the race beyond Ethereum
Aug 20, 2025・6 min read
Ethereum (ETH) helped launch the era of smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps), but it’s still wrestling with an old problem: efficiency. Even after the 2022 Merge update, an update meant to improve Ethereum’s speed and scalability, the blockchain processes only 15–20 transactions per second (TPS). And during periods of heavy network congestion, gas fees are still notoriously high.
To overcome these issues, some developers are exploring solutions like sharding, while others are creating new decentralized blockchains to compete directly with Ethereum. Among these, Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA) are two of the most popular scalable networks, both designed to make decentralized finance (DeFi) transactions faster and cheaper and provide broader developer support. They also aim to offer more efficient ways to build tokens in dApps and DeFi protocols for real-world use cases. But that’s where the similarities end.
Solana and Cardano bring distinct technologies, consensus models, and ideologies to the crypto market, each with the potential to shape the future of web3. But before deciding to support one or invest in both, it’s important to understand the differences between Solana versus Cardano.
In this guide, we’ll tell you what you need to know.
What’s Solana?
Launched in 2020, Solana (SOL) is relatively new to the blockchain world but has had one of the fastest climbs in recent crypto history. Former Dropbox engineer Anatoly Yakovenko introduced the concept for Solana in 2017 before founding Solana Labs to bring the project to life. Just four years after launch, Solana’s market capitalization reached $100 billion, placing it among the largest projects in the crypto market.
Like Ethereum (ETH), Solana is a decentralized network where self-executing programs called smart contracts handle complex tasks without intermediaries. Developers use it to create dApps for DeFi, NFTs, gaming, and other web3 use cases on top of the Solana blockchain.
Solana’s capacity for handling large transaction volumes has made it a favorite for developers on major platforms like Binance and Phantom wallet. Much of its momentum stems from a community-driven approach that prioritizes innovation in dApp development. But what really sets Solana apart is speed. Using its signature proof-of-history (PoH) technology, Solana can process up to 65,000 transactions per second (TPS) with relatively low fees. This impressive throughput makes it one of the most efficient high-performance chains in existence. The network’s native token, SOL, powers transactions and smart contract execution across the ecosystem, enabling developers to issue new tokens and dApps.
What’s Cardano?
Cardano’s story began in 2015 when Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson set off to build a different kind of decentralized blockchain under his company Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK). A few years later, Hoskinson released a whitepaper describing Cardano as a “third-generation blockchain,” designed to fix Ethereum’s pain points around scalability and efficiency while still prioritizing decentralization.
The network launched in 2017, running on Ouroboros, a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus protocol built to validate transactions securely while maintaining decentralization. Like Solana and Ethereum, Cardano (ADA) is a smart contract platform where third-party developers can create dApps, including those for DeFi and NFTs.
Compared to Solana, Cardano follows a much slower, multi-phase roadmap backed by peer-reviewed research and formal verification to enhance security and stability. It uses Haskell and its custom smart contract language, Plutus, to build high-assurance dApps, particularly for finance and decentralized infrastructure.
ADA, Cardano’s native token, fuels activity on the blockchain, from staking and validator rewards to transaction fees and governance proposals, while supporting the platform’s open-source development.
2025
Crypto Tax
Guide is here
CoinTracker's definitive guide to Bitcoin & crypto taxes provides everything you need to know to file your 2024 crypto taxes accurately.
What are the key differences between Solana and Cardano?
Fundamentally, Solana and Cardano share a common goal: to make the decentralized web more scalable and accessible for both developers and everyday users. But while their missions align, their technical foundations and development philosophies are vastly different.
Development history and philosophy
Cardano’s team has always taken the cautious route. Progress is broken into deliberate stages, with academic research, peer reviews, and long testing cycles backing every protocol update. That’s given Cardano a reputation for being one of the most battle-tested blockchains out there, but it also means updates and new features roll out much more slowly.
Meanwhile, Solana moves fast. Its team pushed for speed and high adoption early on, launching quickly and refining later. That rapid start helped Solana attract users, but it also led to issues like DDoS attacks and network outages that many critics consider signs of weaker testing.
Consensus mechanisms
Both Solana and Cardano use a PoS consensus model to validate crypto transactions on their public ledgers without intermediaries. In the PoS model, participating nodes on the network lock (or “stake”) the chain’s native token (SOL for Solana, and ADA for Cardano) for the chance to publish new transactions and earn crypto rewards.
Cardano uses a research-backed PoS model called Ouroboros that prioritizes security, scalability, and decentralization. Solana enhances its PoS setup with an additional process – PoH – to increase transaction throughput. While PoH isn’t a consensus algorithm on its own, it uses cryptographically secure timestamps to help validator nodes confirm transactions faster. This combination gives Solana much higher throughput than many competing blockchains.
Coding languages
Cardano emphasizes mathematical precision, using Haskell and its dedicated smart contract language Plutus for building dApps and DeFi protocols, both of which were designed to emphasise formal verification and security. Solana, meanwhile, appeals to a broader range of developers because it supports Rust and C, a coding programming language that many find more familiar.
Market position and adoption
Despite being much younger than many blockchains, Solana gained rapid adoption after its 2020 mainnet launch. It often trails only Ethereum in market capitalization and total value locked (TVL) for smart contract platforms, with record-breaking levels of user activity on its dApps and DeFi platforms. On the other hand, Cardano typically lands in the top 20 cryptocurrencies by market cap and has strong institutional partnerships. Nevertheless, Solana sees broader day-to-day usage and developer activity in the crypto ecosystem.
Tokenomics
Both SOL and ADA tokens serve similar purposes on their respective blockchains. They’re used for staking, rewarding validators, paying transaction fees, and voting on governance proposals. The main difference lies in how each blockchain manages inflation. Cardano has a fixed supply of 45 billion ADA, while Solana has no hard cap on SOL. Instead, recent proposals gradually lower SOL’s annual inflation rate, aiming for a long-term target of about 1.5%.
Final verdict: Is Solana a good investment? Or should I invest in Cardano?
Both Solana and Cardano push blockchain tech forward, but deciding which has the better outlook in the long run comes down to perspective. There's no way to know which cryptocurrency will outperform the other – or if either will ever truly rival. Still, each has traits that sway investors in different directions.
Solana tends to appeal to crypto traders who want fast, low-fee transactions and are willing to take on some risk. The blockchain’s speed and high throughput are major advantages, but its history of outages and limited testing has raised concerns about reliability. Some also argue that partial centralization contributes to its performance. Still, for investors comfortable with these tradeoffs, Solana is (at the time of writing) the larger decentralized network with more real-world adoption.
Cardano, meanwhile, attracts those who value academic rigor and cautious, research-driven development. Its Ouroboros consensus, Plutus smart contracts, and open-source development make it attractive to institutions like the University of Zurich and SERPRO. The downside is that Cardanno’s slower, methodical approach has let faster competitors like Solana gain ground in adoption and developer activity. However, supporters see Cardano’s focus on reliability and decentralization as ideal for official organizations and high-assurance applications.
For undecided traders, the best move is to explore dApps and DeFi applications on both blockchains. Getting hands-on with Cardano’s ADA ecosystem and Solana's SOL-powered apps offers a clearer sense of each blockchain’s strengths and weaknesses before making a long-term investment decision.
Account for every altcoin with CoinTracker
Whether you prefer veteran digital assets like Bitcoin (BTC) or altcoin projects like Solana and Cardano, including those powering decentralized finance apps, the IRS needs a record of each and every crypto transaction you make. Only crypto tax software designed for the unique complexities of decentralized networks can accurately track these movements, calculate gains and losses, and handle complex blockchain activity.
CoinTracker’s Portfolio Tracker monitors the thousands of cryptocurrencies across web3, connecting directly to exchange APIs, public wallet addresses, and smart contracts. CoinTracker users get a real-time view of their crypto portfolio’s value, with data that easily converts into IRS-compliant forms ready for a CPA, TurboTax, or H&R Block.
Take the stress out of tracking and reporting your crypto holdings – start with CoinTracker for free today.
Disclaimer: This post is informational only and is not intended as tax advice. For tax advice, please consult a tax professional.