Zug, August 13, 2024 – Bitcoin Suisse, a pioneer in Swiss crypto investments and a trusted gateway for digital assets, has announced the integration of Solana (SOL) into its custodial staking services. This addition enhances Bitcoin Suisse's existing Solana offerings, which include trading and custody, creating a comprehensive Solana portfolio. To participate in SOL staking, clients must invest a minimum of CHF 5’000. 

Solana is currently the third-largest Layer 1 blockchain by market capitalization, addressing the blockchain trilemma of scalability, security, and decentralization. Demonstrating remarkable performance, Solana could theoretically process – according to tests - up to 50’000 transactions per second. For context, Bitcoin handles four to seven transactions per second, Ethereum processes around 30, and Visa manages 1’700. This makes Solana one of the fastest blockchains, with comparatively low transaction costs. 

Solana stands out with a remarkable and unique feature that sets it apart from most blockchains: The integration of timekeeping into its transaction recording process. In distributed systems, particularly in blockchains, nodes cannot depend on an external time source, making it challenging to achieve consensus on time. Solana has addressed this issue by incorporating a timekeeping mechanism directly into the blockchain, significantly enhancing system efficiency through its Proof of History (PoH) protocol. 

Proof of History (PoH) verifies that an event occurred at a specific time by demonstrating that it happened before or after another known event, rather than relying solely on a traditional timestamp. Each hash in the sequence contains information from the previous one, effectively embedding an objective timeline within the blockchain. This approach enables Solana to create a reliable historical record of events and determine the order in which transactions occur before they are added to the chain. As a result, nodes in the Solana network can generate blocks based on timestamped transaction data without needing to coordinate with the entire network, significantly reducing the time required for this process. 

Solana’s global reach facilitates seamless collaboration across its ecosystem, eliminating the need for integration with different shards or Layer-2 solutions. Additionally, Solana offers developers the flexibility to work in well-known programming languages such as C, C++, and Rust. 

Solana is currently on a growth trajectory, ranking among the blockchains with the highest number of newly issued tokens. In May 2024, it led the market with nearly half a million tokens issued. Recently, Solana surpassed Ethereum in monthly DEX trading volume for the first time. Additionally, Brazil became the first country to approve a Solana Spot ETF, which is expected to be listed within 90 days.  

At present, SOL staking rewards are approximately 9% annually. The unstaking process involves a three-day lock-up period, and auto-compounding of staking rewards is supported as well.