At first glance, Solana and Ethereum might seem like adversaries, but under the hood, they share more similarities than most expect.
Both blockchains leverage a Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism and support developers building apps with smart contracts—or “programs” in Solana-speak.
Where they truly diverge is in their architecture: Solana runs everything on a single high-speed layer, while Ethereum spreads tasks across multiple layers using rollups.
In this guide, we break down what that difference actually means in plain English, so you can understand how each blockchain works and where they take different paths.
Solana vs. Ethereum: A technical perspective
Solana and Ethereum are more similar than what people might want you to think.
Both blockchains are built on top of a Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism, and both enable developers to create apps by leveraging smart contracts, which are referred to as “programs” in the Solana ecosystem.
The most significant difference between Solana and Ethereum is their distinct architectural philosophies: while Solana pursues a monolithic approach, Ethereum follows a modular strategy.
Solana's monolithic approach
Solana is designed as a single-layer, monolithic blockchain, meaning it handles all aspects of its operations within a unified structure.
This unified design approach allows for extremely high transaction speeds and low latency, making Solana suitable for apps requiring real-time processing. Also, this enables both unrivaled user experiences as well as more straightforward network upgrades.
However, Solana's monolithic approach can also introduce challenges in scaling beyond certain limits and in maintaining flexibility for future innovations.
Ethereum's modular approach
Ethereum, particularly with the transition to Ethereum 2.0, adopts a modular design.
This strategy separates different functions of the blockchain into distinct layers, with Layer-2 solutions, or rollups, such as Optimism, Arbitrum, and Base being the most prominent. Ethereum relies heavily on these Layer-2 solutions to offload and manage transactions, reducing the load on its main chain, which is often criticized for its slow and expensive transactions.
Also, this modular approach allows for greater flexibility, as individual layers can be upgraded or optimized independently. However, it can introduce complexity in integration and coordination between layers—mostly harming the user experience.
Ethereum vs. Solana: A practical perspective
To get a more profound understanding of how Solana and Ethereum differ from one another, we suggest looking at the ecosystem being built on each network.
In this context, Ethereum mainly focuses on decentralized finance (DeFi) primitives and decentralized social networks (DeSoc).
- Lido: A platform allowing users to stake their assets, such as Ether, while maintaining liquidity through derivative tokens representing staked assets (liquid staking tokens or LSTs).
- EigenLayer: A protocol enabling the secure re-staking of Ethereum-based LSTs across various protocols, enhancing their security and functionality.
- AAVE: A peer-to-peer protocol for lending and borrowing cryptocurrencies with variable or stable interest rates.
- Pendle: A DeFi protocol focused on yield tokenization, enabling users to trade future yield on various assets, enhancing the overall flexibility in yield management.
- Uniswap: A decentralized exchange (DEX) utilizing an automated market maker (AMM) model to facilitate peer-to-peer trading of tokens.
- Friend.tech and Farcaster: Both platforms focus on decentralized social networking. The goal is ensuring users’ sovereignty over their data and interactions, promoting open communication, and peer-to-peer interactions and transactions.
Solana is home to a burgeoning DeFi ecosystem as well. But Solana developers focus on more innovative, retail-friendly solutions that leverage the network's high transaction speeds.
- Phantom Swaps: As a self-custodial wallet Phantom also lets you swap tokens, even if they’re on different blockchains. The built-in Crosschain Swapper handles everything behind the scenes, so you don’t have to worry about the technical stuff.
- Phantom Perps: Recently, Phantom rolled out in-wallet perpetual futures trading as well. You can now access sophisticated derivatives products with the ease of a tap—no separate exchange or additional custody layers required.
- Private Equity: Republic, a New York-based fintech startup, has launched a pioneering service giving investors exposure to private equity via tokenised shares on Solana. The initial offering features tokenised stakes in SpaceX, with plans to include other prominent private firms such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Stripe, Ramp, Epic Games, and more.
- Onchain Stocks: In 2025, Backed launched 55+ tokenised U.S. equities on Solana. The initiative enables investors worldwide to access U.S. equities without the conventional constraints of borders, intermediaries, or trading hours—underscoring a broader shift toward frictionless, always-on capital markets.
- Sphere: Sphere is a platform that leverages Solana to make fiat to stablecoin (and vice versa) transactions fast, secure, and low-cost. It’s designed to simplify global payments and streamline financial operations for users and businesses alike.
- Pump.fun: A memecoin launchpad on the Solana blockchain that lets anyone create a token that is instantly tradeable. In other words, you can whip up a new coin in minutes without needing any coding.
- Solana Mobile: Solana Mobile's first device, Saga, was a smashing success. And now, its team is working on its highly-anticipated second device: Seeker. At its core, Solana Mobile designs smartphones for crypto enthusiasts, featuring secure transactions, decentralized app access, and integration with the Solana blockchain to enhance mobile crypto experiences. Its mission: break up the app store duopoly of Apple and Google.
- Hivemapper: A Solana-based DePIN project powering Bee Maps, a decentralized spatial intelligence network that rewards users with HONEY tokens for capturing real-world map data via dashcams.
- MagicBlock: A tool suite leveraging Solana's technology to create real-time gaming experiences that give you ownership of in-game assets and innovative gameplay mechanics.
Getting started on Solana with Phantom
Phantom offers browser extensions for Firefox, Chrome, Brave, and Edge, as well as apps for iOS and Android.
- First, download Phantom
- Then, create a new wallet
- Once you do that, you're ready to go!
To fund your Phantom wallet, read our Apple Pay and Google Pay guide.
How to share SOL with friends and family
Know someone who might be interested in SOL? You can share a simple token page with them so they can get involved.
Here's how:
- Open Phantom
- Search for e.g. “SOL” and select the token
- Click the “Share” button
- Copy the link
- Send the link through your preferred app, such as iMessage, Telegram, Instagram, or others
When you share this link, the recipient will receive the official SOL token page from Phantom.
How to bridge tokens to Solana with Phantom?
If you’d like to bridge funds to Solana, use our very own Crosschain Swapper! With our Crosschain Swapper, you can bridge tokens across Solana, Ethereum, Base, and Sui right in your Phantom wallet.
FAQs
Disclaimer: This guide is strictly for educational purposes only and doesn’t constitute financial or legal advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please be careful and do your own research.
