What is Solana?

What can people do on Solana?

Solana is a blockchain used for payments and applications that handle digital assets. Someone might send a stablecoin, trade an asset or use an app with a digital collectible. The network is designed for frequent, low-cost activity¹. SOL is its own crypto-asset, while the asset an app moves may be something else entirely.

An app on Solana runs through programs deployed to the network². For example, a trading app can apply its rules to assets recorded there. This is why throughput matters: an app used repeatedly needs transactions to be processed without making each small action prohibitively costly. Actual speed and fees vary with demand and the app being used.

Why does the network need SOL?

A sender pays network fees in SOL³, including when the transfer concerns a stablecoin or another token. SOL can also be delegated to validators through staking⁴. Validators confirm transactions, while the delegator retains ownership of the SOL being delegated.

Solana's Proof of History orders events⁵; validators still decide which transactions are accepted. That design helps explain Solana's focus on frequent activity without turning a technical throughput claim into a promise about any particular payment. Ethereum also hosts apps and stablecoins, but uses a different approach to recording their activity. Sui organises app assets as objects and can process independent object changes in parallel.

Owning SOL or a Solana ETP

Direct SOL ownership allows someone to pay network fees, use apps and choose how to store and stake the asset. Virtune Staked Solana ETP instead gives SOL price exposure through an exchange-traded security. It is physically backed with SOL held as collateral⁶. The investor owns the security, not SOL in a personal wallet.

Staking is managed within the ETP. Under its Final Terms, investors receive up to 75% of staking rewards, capped at an annual rate⁷ of no more than 3% before the investor fee. This is a cap; actual rewards may be lower or absent. Rewards vary and are added within the product rather than paid as interest to an account.

The product is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, among other European exchanges.

Costs when buying Virtune Staked Solana ETP

Cost	Charged by	When
Brokerage commission	Broker	On every purchase and sale
Difference between bid and ask price	Market	On every trade
Management fee, 0.95% per year	Issuer	Ongoing, from the product's value
Currency conversion	Broker, if applicable	If the product trades in another currency

Risks to understand

SOL's price can fall sharply, and staking rewards may be small or absent. Physical backing does not prevent a price loss. Direct ownership involves wallet or custodian risk; the ETP also has issuer, custody and exchange-trading risks. It trades during exchange hours even though SOL moves around the clock. European authorities warn that crypto-assets can lose substantial value⁸.