Ethereum (ETH) against Solana (SOL)
Ethereum and Solana next to each other: how the prices travelled, what differs under the hood and what each coin is built for.
ETH and SOL: what is under the hood
| Ethereum (ETH) | Solana (SOL) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2,442.01 | $100.15 |
| Ticker | ETH | SOL |
| Type | coin of its own network | coin of its own network |
| Launched | 2015 | 2020 |
| Built by | Vitalik Buterin | Anatoly Yakovenko |
| Consensus | Proof of Stake | Proof of Stake + Proof of History |
| Block | ~12 sec | — |
| Supply cap | no cap | no cap |
| Privacy | transfers are public | transfers are public |
| In circulation | 122.06 M ETH | 587.21 M SOL |
| Market cap | $298.12 B | $58.81 B |
| Rank by cap | #2 | #7 |
Source: CoinGecko, Sep 17, 2026 11:54. Where these numbers come from
Who went where: ETH and SOL
Both prices start the period at 100, so the chart shows which one rose or fell harder — not the prices themselves.
| Period | ETH | SOL |
|---|---|---|
| Week | −3.77% | −2.02% |
| Month | +27.59% | +30.99% |
| Quarter | +36.75% | +42.88% |
Over the quarter their daily moves line up at 0.88 (they travel together).
What each one is built for: ETH and SOL
- Smart contracts and appsEthereum and Solana
How Ethereum and Solana are built
How Ethereum works
Since September 2022 Ethereum has used Proof of Stake: validators lock ETH to propose and confirm blocks, with a new slot every 12 seconds. Smart contracts run in the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). Part of every transaction fee is burned, so the net supply depends on network activity.
What Ethereum is for
ETH is used to pay gas fees, as collateral in DeFi, for staking and as a settlement asset across the ecosystem. Layer-2 networks such as Arbitrum and Optimism also use ETH for fees, which makes it the working currency of a large part of the crypto economy.
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.