*Disclaimer- Your cryptocurrency transactions should be based off of your own personal analysis and/or from a professional.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, we’ve seen people across the world invest in cryptocurrency at levels we’ve never seen before. Bitcoin was valued at around $8,000 last May and has reached $58,000 in less than a year’s span. Ethereum is the next popular crypto, valued around $200 last year then increasing to over $4,000 this month. We’ve seen Dogecoin, a crypto that used to be never taken seriously, even deemed as a “meme coin”, have its value increase over 2,000% since January.

Many cryptocurrencies have significantly spiked in value, especially with banks, businesses, and consumers using them in transactions, or just acquiring them so they have some crypto to hold on to. Because of this, it may be too late to buy certain cryptos if you’re looking for short-term gains. However, if you’re looking for long term profits (5-10+ years), crypto is primed to play a significant part in the world’s future so it may be still a great time to invest. But what’s the next crypto that could potentially skyrocket?

Cryptocurrency vs Blockchain

Before we get into the next big crypto, let’s make sure we know the difference between cryptocurrency and a blockchain. A blockchain is simply a digital ledger that stores records of transactions in groups or “blocks”, and those blocks are linked together in a list or “chain”. And a blockchain’s success or performance can often lead to their cryptocurrency gaining value. Many transactions involving digital assets, such as NFTs, occur on Ethereum’s blockchain platform. Ethereum’s cryptocurrency Ether (ETH), is the coin that’s widely used to purchase digital assets. So when using a cryptocurrency exchange such as Coinbase to purchase Ethereum, you’re really purchasing their token Ether. The heavy increase in NFT transactions over the past few months played a role in the value of Ether increasing accordingly.

Ethereum is one of the most common blockchain platforms used, processing approximately 15 tps (transactions per second). But there are other blockchains that can move much faster than Ethereum. Stellar Lumens can do 2000 transactions per second, which is a part of the reason Stellar’s coin, XLM, has increased over 1,000% in less than a year. But there’s one blockchain that’s arguably the fastest in the world, and is starting to gain more popularity.

Solana

Solana is a blockchain platform that can process 50,000 tps, with an average transaction fee of $0.00001, significantly cheaper than Ethereum’s and many other blockchains as you can see on the chart above. Solana’s mission is to have a high-speed blockchain with low fees, that can be used across the globe. Because of their high speeds and cheap fees, Solana has received a steady increase of supporters and has been backed by prominent companies and figures.

Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of FTX, which is one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, is a huge supporter of Solana. FTX launched a crypto exchange, Serum, on Solana’s blockchain last year. Then in recent weeks, Solana secured a $100 million investment from five different funds: Huobi, Gate Labs, MATH Wallets, NGC Ventures, and Hashkey. The $100 million investment was primarily to help drive growth and development in China, and having support from Huobi, one of the biggest crypto exchanges in China, is beneficial. And just this week Solana announced they secured a $60 million investment from four parties: Hacken, Gate.io, Coin DCX and BRZ. These funds aim to boost Solana’s ecosystem in the markets of Brazil, Russia, India and Ukraine. One interesting note about that investment is Coin DCX and Solana partnering to help build NFT marketplaces in India. We know that Ethereum has a strong hold on NFT marketplaces, but Solana’s faster speeds and cheaper fees may cause a significant migration to Solana-based NFT marketplaces in the near future, which would help boost the value of the Solana token (SOL).

SOL is another crypto that took off this year, having over a 4,000% increase since January with a current value of around $40. However, Solana is still a fairly new blockchain that has plenty of more room to grow. The Coin Price Forecast predicts SOL will reach at least $200 by the end of 2021, while the Economy Forecast agency predicts it will reach slightly over $100. There’s even the #solszn trend gaining traction on social media, with hopes that SOL and Solana reach new heights in the summer. SOL may not have another drastic increase this year, but in the long run the Solana ecosystem is primed to have a great impact in blockchain technology for the foreseeable future. Solana Season may very well be upon us.