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With Solana establishing itself as the leading layer-1 blockchain in terms of speed and cost efficiency, several crypto developers are exploring the use of Solana’s technology to launch their own blockchains.
There are approximately two dozen Solana Virtual Machine chains, including layer-1s, layer-2s on other blockchains, and application-specific chains. Here are the layer-1 blockchains aiming to rival Solana:
Fogo
Fogo is an upcoming layer-1 blockchain that aims to maximize the performance of the SVM by running the Firedancer validator client on a permissioned validator set with multi-local consensus.
By forking Jump’s open-source Firedancer code, Fogo believes it can enhance Solana’s performance with certain decentralization tradeoffs. The project raised $8 million at a $100 million valuation through the crypto crowdfunding platform Echo.
Pythnet
Pythnet is an SVM app chain operated by the popular Solana oracle Pyth. The chain allows Pyth operators providing price data to run validators, with the protocol aggregating prices. Pythnet was launched in August 2022 and has been live for nearly three years, offering a decentralized way to stream price data.
Solayer
Solayer initially started as a Solana restaking protocol but pivoted to launch its own layer-1 powered by InfiniSVM after competition in the restaking space increased. The project claims it can achieve one million transactions per second, although some Solana developers question its performance figures.
JupNet
Jupiter, a prominent Solana DeFi platform, teased JupNet as an “omnichain network” aiming to unify all of crypto on a single decentralized ledger. JupNet’s Jupiter SVM validators reach consensus on internal Solana transactions and external transactions from other blockchains, making it a highly ambitious project for Jupiter.
Cube
Cube Exchange is constructing an SVM L1, as confirmed by co-founder Bartosz Lipinski in a Telegram message.
Thru
Thru will be built on a new virtual machine called ThruVM. Co-founder Liam Heeger, a former core engineer on Solana’s Firedancer client, adds intrigue to the project. With Heeger’s background, Thru stands out as a promising addition to the list of emerging blockchain projects.