Solana is a blockchain designed for decentralized apps (Dapps). This open-source project promises faster operation and cheap transaction fees compared to the Ethereum network. By using proof of work, Solana is an eco-friendly network and has less environmental impact than blockchains like Bitcoin.

Recently launched in April 2020, Solana has grown by leaps and bounds. At the time of this article, Solana has jumped from $1.50 in January 2021 to $145.92. It is currently ranked 7th in the world, competing with some of the most popular cryptocurrencies.

Want to learn what you can do with Solana Blockchain? The Solana Ecosystem is filled with a wide range of apps, Dapps, Defi projects, and NFTs.

Below we’ve highlighted some of the most popular and best apps, Dapps, Defi, and NFT projects based on the Solana blockchain network.

Best Solana Apps

The Solana Blockchain was built for developers. It makes it easy and safe to create stunning decentralized apps and software. Developers are hard at work assembling all types of apps for Solana, including finance apps, DeFi apps, NFT marketplaces, play-to-earn games, crypto wallets, and more.

Step Finance

Step Finance lets you stay up to date on your crypto positions. Once your wallet is connected, you’ll be able to take control and understand your investment portfolio better.

The system gives you complete views of your LPs, tokens, yield farms, and positions. You receive valuable metrics that can help you make educated decisions on your finances and crypto positions.

Information in the app is aggregated from Raydium, SerumDex, and Orca. You’ll find your wallet balances, LP tokens, yield farms, staking positions, and DEX positions included in the information provided by Step Finance. The app will also offer investment strategies and swap aggregation services.

Star Atlas

Star Atlas is hoping to be the 1st massively multi-player metaverse on the Solana Blockchain.

The developers at Star Atlas describe their game as “A grand strategy game of space exploration, territorial conquest, political domination, and more.” The art style and imagery are breathtaking and evokes feelings of Dune mixed with No Man’s Sky.

There is currently a marketplace where you can buy various collectibles, ships, and structures that you can use once the game releases.

Half strategy game, half roleplaying game, we are excited to see what the team at Star Atlas will develop in the future. Look for Star Atlas late in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Orca

Do you need to exchange crypto while on the Solana Blockchain? Orca has you covered.

Choose from a variety of Solana wallets, including Phantom, Sollet, Solflare, and Mathwallet. Once connected, you have the opportunity to transfer, send and receive all types of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Orca also features swap tokens, liquidity pools, and yield farming programs to take your tokens to the next level.

Transactions on Orca and Solana are incredibly fast, and gas fees are low. These benefits make any Solana-based project attractive to traders and investors.

Phantom

Almost any transaction on the blockchain will require a wallet. Phantom is Solana’s answer and makes it safe and secure to send transactions through the Solana Blockchain.

Phantom is a small extension that you can add to your web browser. It allows a wide range of transactions, including sending NFTs, token swaps, Web3 application transactions, and SOL staking.

Phantom wallet is incredibly secure and always protects your privacy. They do not store any identifiable information on your account or asset balances.

The extension is available for most popular web browsers, including Chrome, Brave, Firefox, and Edge.

Best Solana Dapps

Decentralized apps (Dapps) are applications that are on a decentralized network. They use a smart contract and a frontend user interface. Dapps can be almost anything from games to NFT collectible markets.

Solana has incredible speeds and low transaction fees, making it a great blockchain to develop Dapps for.

Aphid

Aphid uses artificial intelligence to create bots that consumers and businesses can control.

The system has its action token powered by Solana. Ownership of the aBion token allows owners to deploy bots that will help you start earning more tokens and money instantly.

Aphid has a workforce leveraging system ledger. Here, users can save time and money by employing their bots to perform operations for them. Once the bot completes a task, the ledger processes commission and sends transactions to the Solana blockchain.

Some of the exciting uses of Aphid include digital sales agents for your eCommerce website, automated crypto, forex, and stock trading, and app development services.

MetaSafari

MetaSafari has an epic vision to merge the metaverse with the physical world. The developers are planning a multi-chain, multi-tribeNFT based metaverse platform.

Currently in pre-alpha phase 0, MetaSafari has its first planned NFT drop on September 21st, 2021. Endangered animal NFTs will be priced at 3 SOL and can be minted by using Sollet or Phantom wallet.

MetaSafari also plans to release another NFT collection in 2022. The NFTs collection titled Alt Saints (Alternative Saints) got its inspiration from both religious icons and the environment. Other plans include phase 1 free NFT upgrades and phase 2 fractionalized NFTs that you can trade for parts.

Saber

Saber has quickly become the most popular cross-chain stablecoin exchange for the Solana Blockchain.

Saber (SBR) has a token that is pegged to USD. This feature makes transfers between other stablecoins like USDT and USDC simple, safe, and accessible.

You can also deposit crypto into a liquidity pool or yield farm to earn passive income through transaction fees, token-based incentives, and automated DeFi Strategies.

Solanart

Solanart is the first and largest NFT marketplace based on Solana. Transactions on Solanart are quick and incredibly affordable compared to any NFT marketplace based on Ethereum networks. You can save yourself thousands of dollars in gas fees by minting, buying, or selling your NFTs on Solanart.

You can handle collections through the most popular Solana wallets, including Phantom, Sollet.IO, and Solflare.

While not as popular as ETH projects like OpenSea, Solanart is quickly becoming one of the hottest NFT marketplaces out there. Some of the most popular projects on Solanart include Degen Ape Academy, Aurory, SolPunks, Bold Badgers, and Sollamas.

Buying and selling NFTs has never been easier on the Solana Blockchain.

Best Solana DeFi Projects

DeFi covers all types of financial applications based on decentralized apps and networks. Solana has some of the best DeFi projects that will meet your needs, from apps that will make automated decisions to smart contracts.

Raydium

Raydium is a full-featured DeFi project built on the Solana blockchain. It allows you to trade quickly, earn through yield farms, and provide liquidity for any token.

Utilizing staking, liquidity pools, and yield farms are intuitive and easy on Raydium. You’ll also have no problem swapping tokens throughout the blockchain while using the Dapp.

Are you a developer that is creating a new Solana project? Raydium offers its AcceleRaytor program. AcceleRaytor provides a place for new projects to generate interest and capital for their Solana project launch.

Raydium also has a program for NFT artists called DropZone. Here you can launch your new NFT collection and help it get the promotion it deserves.

Oxygen

Oxygen hopes to power your portfolio with trading leverage, term liquidity, passive yield, borrowing to short, and option writing. This project is a DeFi prime brokerage service that hopes to democratize investing so you can make the best investments possible.

Some key features of Oxygen include multiple uses of the same collateral, cross-collateralization, and market-based pricing. These perks allow investors to earn by lending and borrowing at the same time.

All transactions on Oxygen are safe and secure. Oxygen cannot access your private information, so you can complete transactions with peace of mind.

DeFi Land

Attempting to gamify investing, DeFi Land is an agriculture simulation game. DeFi Land will aggregate different protocols to let you manage your assets from one place.

You’ll be able to experience yield farming, liquidity pools, and other investments as a game. DeFi Land is also planning a series of NFTs that will serve unique functions. Finally, you can play the game and earn crypto and tokens by completing tasks, battles, and collections.

DeFi Land is currently on course for the 4th quarter of 2021 land sale and closed beta testing of their Dapp.

Block Asset

Block Asset hopes to bridge NFT collectibles and verified athletes. The Dapp will include an NFT marketplace, blockchain event ticketing, and NFT gaming in the future.

The developers at Block Asset are using the Metaplex protocol to provide partnerships with star athletes in a wide range of leagues from around the world.

NFT ownership in Block Asset means you are part of the community. This feature gives you voting rights on future advancements of the project and options for staking and yield farming your investments.

Future upgrades to Block Asset are planned, including play-to-earn gaming and the introduction of the BLOCK token. Owning Block will provide numerous perks, including reduced fees on NFT purchases, token staking, presale on monthly drops, and access to live events.

Serum

Serum is quickly becoming one of the most critical projects on Solana. It is beneficial for traders, developers, and algorithmic traders interested in utilizing Solana blockchain to its fullest potential.

Using Serum’s protocol allows quick transaction speeds and low transaction costs for decentralized finance applications. Compared to ETH transactions, you can easily save thousands of dollars in gas fees.

Serum Token is the governance token of Serum. Holding Serum Token (SRM) will grant owners benefits, including buy/burn of fess.

Using Solana’s blockchain means Serum can handle hundreds of orders per second and has the capability of doubling its capacity every two years. Their roadmap envisions 1 million transactions per second.

Bonfida

Bonfida is built using Serum and the Solana Blockchain. It includes a suite of features that create a bridge between Solana and Serum.

The Dapp features include DEX trading, staking, and API on-chain transactions. You also get access to extensive data analytics packages to help you grow your investments and make educated decisions regarding your investments.

Bonfida also features a detailed GUI based on Serum. Inside the GUI, you will find exclusive markets, advanced order types, and trading view charts.

Best Solana NFT Projects

Investing in and collecting NFTs has quickly become increasingly popular. From Beeple’s $69 million NFT sales to $7 million Cryptopunk sales, everyone is trying to get into NFT markets.

While the Ethereum network is still the king of NFTs, Solana is a new rival that offers faster and cheaper transactions. Here are some of the Best NFT projects available on the Solana network.

Degenerate Ape Academy

Created from 137 unique traits, 10,000 Degenerate Apes were minted on August 13th, 2021, for a price of 6 SOL ($873).

Each NFT ape is minted with a variety of traits, from common to mythic. These traits are randomly applied to each ape, giving each a unique appearance and rarity.

The 3-D digital artwork sets Degenerate Ape Academy apart from some of the more popular NFT projects that use randomized appearances and low-quality, pixel artwork.

If you missed out on the presale, you can find plenty of different Degen Apes in a variety of rarities for sale on the secondary market. Many Degen Apes are currently selling for over 110,000 SOL.

Upcoming features for Degen Apes include charity initiates, origin stories for the apes, Ape-Kart, and fractional ownership of Apes. There has not been any word on generation 2 of Degenerate Ape Academy.

Solana Monkey Business

Do you prefer pixel-art generated NFTs like Cryptopunks? Solana Monkey Business is a collection of 5000 unique and randomly generated collectibles stored on the Solana blockchain.

Solana Monkeys are generated from 99 different traits. The traits fill nine layers to create a unique NFT collectible. Many of the traits are extremely rare, and Monkeys with these traits will be extremely valuable on the secondary market.

The minting cost of 2 SOL makes Solana Monkey Business an affordable yet desirable NFT for collectors and investors. Two generations of Solana Monkey Business have already been released, with many more generations planned for the future.

SolPunks

If you are interested in jumping on the pixel art bandwagon but missed out on Cryptopunk, SolPunks has you covered. SolPunks let you show you are part of the Solana NFT ecosystem and community.

SolPunks are a series of 10,000 pixelated, randomly generated artwork collectibles. The original drop quickly sold out, and after-market prices have been sky-high ever since. Each SolPunk was minted for 3 SOL ($295). Current prices for secondary market SolPunks vary from 9 SOL to 200,000 SOL.

Each SolPunk was minted randomly during the initial drop, meaning every buyer had no idea what their SolPunk would look like. This gave every collector an equal chance to purchase SolPunks with extremely rare or unique characteristics.

Bold Badgers

Bold Badgers is another unique NFT project based on the Solana Blockchain. All attributes for the Bold Badgers were drawn by hand. Plus, the NFT is randomly generated from 170 of these traits. The stylized artwork gives Bold Badgers a unique advantage over other pixelated artwork collections.

10,000 Badgers were randomly generated from the 170 hand-drawn attributes and minted for 5 SOL ($738). Just like other NFT projects, some attributes are scarce and instantly make your NFT a highly sought-after collectible and investment.

After the initial minting was completed and sold out, Bold Badgers have seen considerable increases in value on the secondary markets. Currently, on Solanart, some of the rarest Bold Badgers are reaching prices up to 100,000 SOL ($1.4 million).

The developers are dedicated to building a community for owners of Bold Badgers and hope to make Bold Badgers a lifestyle community with prizes, competitions, and more in the future.

Sollamas

If you’re bored of punk, monkey, or ape-related NFTs, you should check out Sollamas. Owning a Sollama lets you join the herd.

Sollamas is a randomly generated NFT collection of 10,000 llamas on the Solana Blockchain. Llamas were sold individually for 4 SOL or three packs for 11.7 SOL. This makes them one of the most affordable NFTs on our list of best NFT projects on Solana.

The collection was generated from 165 attributes spanning common to artifact rarities. This means some LLamas will be highly sought after and worth thousands of dollars.

With a floor price of 3.75 SOL, investing in a Sollama NFT is quite affordable compared to other similar NFT projects. You can also find Sollama NFTs reaching prices as high as 17,777 SOL.

Solana Apps Overview

As you can see, the Solana Ecosystem is quickly growing with all types of applications. You can find gaming, NFTs, DeFi, and decentralized applications for almost any need. We’ve highlighted some of the best Solana projects out now or coming soon. You can find a complete overview of all apps available for Solana on their Ecosystem Page.