Author: Biteye Core Contributor Anci
Editor: Biteye Core Contributor Denise
Original Title: Solana Aims to Build a "On-Chain Nasdaq", Where Will the AI Narrative Go?
"Solana's greatest advantage lies in its versatility, capable of simultaneously carrying multiple different types of applications and tracks."
—— Lily Liu, Chair of Solana Foundation
Many relationships in the world are like a seesaw. On one side, ETH's price is recovering on its tenth anniversary, while on the other side, SOL is feeling somewhat anxious - the path of the "Ethereum killer" has become more difficult, and it has even welcomed its own "killers" - quite a turn of events.
However, moderate anxiety is not necessarily a bad thing for individuals or projects. For Solana, which has weathered many storms, dealing with it has become even more second nature. In this article, we intend to help you understand Solana's recent major moves and delve into the current landscape and subsequent views on Solana's AI sector.
01. Official Big Moves Frequently Occurring
1. Alpenglow Upgrade: Replacing SoH, Racing Faster with Competitors like SUI
Alpenglow is considered the most significant upgrade to the Solana core protocol to date, comparable to Ethereum's transition from PoW to PoS consensus. Its mission is to replace the existing PoH (Proof of History) and Tower BFT consensus mechanism.
[The rest of the translation follows the same professional and accurate approach, maintaining the original structure and meaning while translating to English.]Stage One: Early DePIN Ecosystem Explosion and DeAI Sprouting
The popularity of the DePIN concept made Solana one of the earliest public chains to explore on-chain decentralized AI. These projects built decentralized networks for computing power, bandwidth, and data based on Solana's powerful performance and low prices, laying the foundation for Solana's early AI ecosystem.
In terms of AI computing power networks, early projects like Render, io.net, and Aethir first attempted on-chain decentralized computing power, with different focuses:
Render focuses on 3D animation and metaverse rendering tasks, recording task allocation and payment on Solana, and matching GPU providers and demanders through smart contracts.
io.net primarily provides low-cost decentralized GPU computing power for AI and machine learning, automatically allocating computing power through its own network, with Solana used for settling $IO tokens and recording node contributions.
Aethir mainly optimizes real-time applications like games through edge computing, distributing computing power to edge nodes, with Solana used for recording transactions and $ATH token incentives.
These projects are early explorers in the already competitive decentralized computing power network, with significant financing and market attention. However, these projects typically require high-performance GPUs for participation, making them inaccessible to ordinary people.
In comparison, Grass, Helium, Roam, and Gradient Network have a better grassroots foundation.
[The rest of the translation follows the same professional and accurate approach]1. Fast and Cost-Effective: Speed, throughput, and fees are the most critical factors for on-chain AI projects. Multiple AI Agents need close collaboration and transactions under protocols like MCP, and decentralized training and data collection rely on high-frequency, rapid interactions between nodes. Currently, Solana is highly efficient, and after the Alpenglow upgrade, confirmation time has been reduced to 150 milliseconds, further lowering latency and costs, better supporting real-time AI applications.
2. Good Liquidity: As the project's currency, the stability and smooth circulation of AI tokens significantly impact the project. Solana's current daily DEX Volume reaches $1.4B, ranking second only to Ethereum, and boasts mature and active DeFi ecosystems like Raydium and Jito, allowing AI projects to easily access stable liquidity pools. The upgrade is expected to attract more market makers, provide deep liquidity, and help AI tokens circulate and raise funds quickly.
3. Smart Contract Support: Solana supports parallel processing and more flexible development languages. Its virtual machine SVM can more efficiently handle complex logic, suitable for the more complex on-chain execution required by AI tasks (such as Agent decision-making or data verification). After the Alpenglow upgrade, contract functions will become more powerful and stable, making it easier for AI developers to build applications like prediction markets or automated training.
4. Decentralization: Although Solana has long been criticized for "not being decentralized enough" compared to Ethereum, it currently has over 2,000 nodes, far exceeding many popular performance and proprietary chains. The Alpenglow upgrade will lower operational costs, potentially attracting more nodes and further enhancing decentralization, strengthening the AI ecosystem's resistance to censorship and global distribution.
5. Ecosystem Interaction: As a general-purpose chain, Solana's ecosystem is more complete, diverse, and mature, making it easy for AI projects to collaborate across domains, such as AI Agents using DePIN computing networks and seamless interactions with on-chain RWA assets. A comprehensive ecosystem can easily empower AI projects.
05, In Conclusion
In the crypto world, we are always excited about the birth of narratives and anxious about their collapse. Solana, full of memes, is a master of narratives. "On-chain NASDAQ" and AI are undoubtedly its two most important narratives.
The arrival of the Alpenglow upgrade is full of anticipation. At that time, the Solana that once single-handedly fought Ethereum and the entire Layer 2 ecosystem will become stronger. But whether it is strong enough to shoulder these two narratives and compete with more general and proprietary chains? Perhaps only time will tell the answer.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BitpushNewsCN
Bitpush Telegram Group: https://t.me/BitPushCommunity
Bitpush Telegram Subscription: https://t.me/bitpush
