Solana (SOL)

Overview

How it works and why it matters

SOL is Solana's native asset, used for transaction fees and staking, and is not itself an SPL token mint. Solana programs operate on accounts; transfers may involve native SOL or token-account instructions with different validation details. A payment monitor should recognize signature, slot, mint when relevant, fee payer and commitment level.

Important technical and operational details

Solana (SOL) is the native Coin of the Solana network. It funds transaction fees, can be transferred between system accounts, supports staking, and provides the lamports needed for account creation or storage-related requirements. One SOL is subdivided into lamports for precise accounting.

Solana stores mutable state in accounts identified by 32-byte addresses. A transaction contains signatures, account references, a recent blockhash, and one or more compiled instructions. All instructions in the transaction execute atomically: if one fails, the state changes are rolled back, although fees can still be charged.

Every transaction requires a fee paid in SOL. The fee includes a base component per signature and can include a prioritization fee based on requested compute resources. A separate fee payer can sponsor a user's transaction, which is useful when the user is transferring a token but does not hold enough SOL.

Native SOL movement differs from an SPL Token Transfer . SPL tokens use token accounts and mint-specific program logic, while SOL is managed through the system's native account balance. Wrapping SOL into a token account creates a separate representation that should not be confused with ordinary native SOL.

Related concepts

Coin; Token Transfer

Further reading

• solana.com documentation
• solana.com documentation