Bitcoin (BTC) against Solana (SOL)
Bitcoin and Solana next to each other: how the prices travelled, what differs under the hood and what each coin is built for.
BTC and SOL: what is under the hood
| Bitcoin (BTC) | Solana (SOL) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $76,449.00 | $100.15 |
| Ticker | BTC | SOL |
| Type | coin of its own network | coin of its own network |
| Launched | 2009 | 2020 |
| Built by | Satoshi Nakamoto | Anatoly Yakovenko |
| Consensus | Proof of Work (SHA-256) | Proof of Stake + Proof of History |
| Block | ~10 min | — |
| Supply cap | 21 M BTC | no cap |
| Privacy | transfers are public | transfers are public |
| In circulation | 20.09 M BTC | 587.21 M SOL |
| Market cap | $1.54 T | $58.81 B |
| Rank by cap | #1 | #7 |
Source: CoinGecko, Sep 17, 2026 11:54. Where these numbers come from
Who went where: BTC and SOL
Both prices start the period at 100, so the chart shows which one rose or fell harder — not the prices themselves.
| Period | BTC | SOL |
|---|---|---|
| Week | −2.72% | −2.02% |
| Month | +18.08% | +30.99% |
| Quarter | +21.07% | +42.88% |
Over the quarter their daily moves line up at 0.86 (they travel together).
What each one is built for: BTC and SOL
- Holding value long termBitcoin
- Smart contracts and appsSolana
How Bitcoin and Solana are built
How Bitcoin works
The network uses Proof of Work with the SHA-256 algorithm: miners compete to add a new block roughly every 10 minutes and receive newly issued coins plus fees. Every 210,000 blocks (about four years) the block reward is cut in half, which slows issuance until the 21 million cap is reached. Balances are tracked as unspent transaction outputs (UTXO).
What Bitcoin is for
Bitcoin is mostly held as a long-term store of value and used as the base asset of the crypto market: most trading pairs, indices and derivatives are priced against it. It is also used for cross-border transfers and, through the Lightning Network, for small fast payments.
How Solana works
Solana combines Proof of Stake with Proof of History, a cryptographic clock that helps order transactions. Slots last about 400 milliseconds and transactions are processed in parallel. Tokens on Solana follow the SPL standard.
What Solana is for
SOL pays network fees and is staked to secure the network. Solana hosts decentralized exchanges, payment apps, NFT marketplaces and many popular tokens.