Solana is a high-performance layer-1 blockchain that uses a combination of Proof-of-History (PoH) and Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanisms to achieve high throughput and low transaction costs. It supports smart contracts and decentralized applications, processing thousands of transactions per second. SOL is the native token used for transaction fees, staking, and governance, with an inflationary supply model that decreases annually toward a long-term rate of 1.5%.