The world of cryptocurrencies is expanding rapidly, with new and exciting projects entering the market regularly. Launched in 2020, Solana is one of the most recent blockchain projects to make an appearance.
The growing popularity of the project has made Solana a very sought-for asset. Luckily, there are many licensed exchanges in the US and Alaska where you can buy SOL coins legally and effortlessly.
However, before you do so, make sure to read this comprehensive guide on Solana’s most important characteristics. You will learn what it is, what it can be used for, and discover the best ways to buy it in Alaska.
What Is Solana?
Solana is a cryptocurrency and an open-source project that works on a blockchain network. As such, it lends itself to decentralized apps and finance. In addition to that, Solana brings innovation into the crypto market thanks to its proof of history consensus mechanism.
This new consensus mechanism makes a time mark on each node in the network, facilitating the easier and faster organization of the blocks. Thus, proof of history improves the transaction speed, making Solana one of the fastest networks out there.
The Solana network has the potential to compute up to 50,000 transactions every second. To put things into perspective, Visa’s TPS is 1,700, whereas Bitcoin can process only 4.6 transactions per second.
Similarities and Differences From Ethereum
You’ll see some notable similarities and differences between the Solana and the Ethereum networks. Both of these networks support decentralized apps, and they have their own crypto coin.
However, Ethereum has marked a much lower transaction speed, although its developers have been working on improving this feature. On top of that, thanks to its proof of history consensus mechanism, Solana has excellent scalability. In contrast, Ethereum, like Bitcoin, uses proof of work, which has shown low scalability potential.
On the flip side, both Solana and Ethereum have an unlimited potential number of tokens. Ethereum has released around 120 million coins to date, whereas Solana has north of 511 million coins in circulation.
Solana Origin
Solana’s origins can be traced back to 2017, when its creator Anatoly Yakovenko released the first whitepaper. Yakovenko is a Russian computer scientist who had garnered a lot of experience working for Qualcomm before concentrating his efforts on Solana.
Yakovenko’s innovation, proof of history, attracted a lot of attention. Some of the interested parties involved Stephen Akridge and Greg Fitzgerald, who had also worked at Qualcomm previously. They teamed up with Yakovenko and founded Solana Labs together.
Where Can I Buy Solana in Alaska?
Two of the most popular ways of buying crypto are decentralized and centralized cryptocurrency exchanges. Decentralized exchanges are an excellent choice to maintain your anonymity as you don’t have to submit any personal information for their services.
However, these exchanges accept only cryptocurrencies, so you cannot use fiat money on them. What’s more, they are not in line with the official crypto laws in Alaska as they are not properly regulated.
Individuals or companies can legally sell crypto in Alaska only if they have a money transmitter license. Therefore, centralized crypto exchanges are the option you want to go for. They are regulated and safe, allowing you to buy SOL using traditional currency. However, you can’t use them anonymously.
Choosing the Right Centralized Crypto Exchange
Alaskan citizens interested in buying Solana have no shortage of options for crypto exchanges. Still, this abundance of choices can be really confusing, especially if you’re a beginner. To help you pick wisely, we’ve created a list of the most important criteria a good centralized crypto exchange should satisfy.
- Security — Security is the absolute most important factor when it comes to crypto exchanges. Therefore, checking whether a platform uses the latest security protocols and has a proper license is paramount.
- SOL availability — Although Solana is gaining in popularity with each passing day, some exchanges still don’t offer it. Thus, you should check the platform for SOL availability.
- Trustworthiness — Even if an exchange looks good on the surface, it’s worth checking its reputation on user forums. Customer experience is a good indicator of how safe it is to use a platform.
- Availability in Alaska — Most exchanges that operate in the US operate in all of its states, including Alaska. However, there can be exceptions, so it’s a good idea to make sure an exchange you want to use caters to Alaskans.
- Accepted payment methods — Centralized crypto exchanges enable the use of fiat currency to buy SOL, but the choice can be limited. You should choose a platform that supports the use of the banking option you intend to use.
- Liquidity — When comparing crypto exchanges, you should go for the ones that show greater trading volumes, which can greatly influence the transaction speed.
- User experience — Those new to cryptocurrencies should pick a platform with no-frills, an easy-to-use interface, and a user-friendly layout.
- Fees — In most cases, buying cryptocurrencies on an exchange comes with certain fees. Different platforms have different fee policies, so this is worth checking out before buying.
Step-by-Step Guide to Buying Solana
Once you’ve picked an exchange that suits your needs, you can proceed to buy Solana. Luckily, the process is very similar on many exchanges. You can follow the guide below to buy your first SOL successfully.
- Register a crypto wallet account — Storing your Solana coins on a personal wallet is the best option, security-wise. Therefore, you should download a wallet of your choice and create an account on it.
- Create an account on your chosen exchange — Fill in the registration form with the requested personal details. If needed, verify your identity and age.
- Top up your account — To buy SOL, you need to deposit enough money into your account. Learn about the fees, as you may need to deposit more to cover these.
- Purchase Solana — Find a list of available cryptocurrencies and pick Solana. Pick the payment method you’d like to use and the number of coins you’d like to buy. Complete the transaction according to the instructions.
- Transfer SOL to your wallet — You can choose to keep your SOL coins on the exchange you bought them from, but this is not the safest option. We recommend that you transfer them to the wallet account you created.
Final Thoughts
With so many crypto exchanges operating in Alaska, you’ll have no problem finding the one you can use. With our list of available platforms and the criteria, we’ve outlined in this article, picking the right platforms is as easy as pie.
