What are solana and fantom as the cryptocurrencies’ prices surge

Two new cryptocurrencies, called solana and fantom, have recorded huge spikes in price. Find out about the new rivals to bitcoin.

Two new cryptos are making waves with solana hitting an all time market value high of $US30 billion ($A41 billion), while fantom exploded in value to $US600 million ($A822 million).

Both relatively new entrants are considered strong competitors against one of the most popular cryptos, ethereum, as well as bitcoin.

Solana prices spiked by 12 per cent on Monday reaching a price of $US103.72 ($A142.22), while fantom soared by 70 per cent in just one day to trade at $US0.87 ($A1.19).

Here’s more on the new cryptos.

When did solana and fantom debut?

Solana only launched 18 months ago, but is now the world’s eighth largest cryptocurrency with a market value of around $US30 billion ($A41 billion). Its price has risen by 37 per cent in the last week alone and this year its shot up by a massive 70 per cent.

Fantom has grown by more than 340 per cent in the last 30 days. It could be heading back up to its all-time high price of $US0.94 ($A1.29), which it hit back in May before the crypto market crash.

It went live at December 2019, but most of its core features weren’t introduced until the end of last year.

The new cryptos offering different technology to bitcoin. Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Who are behind the cryptos?

Solana’s most prominent founder is a former software engineer for Dropbox named Anatoly Yakovenko.

One of his big aims was to differentiate the coin by a proof of history feature, meaning it can record transactions and the time that has passed between them, boosting the trust in the blockchain story.

He helped solana raise $US25 million in public and private funding rounds back in 2017 to fund the digital coin.

Fantom was founded in early 2018 by South Korean man Ahn Byung Ik, who has a PhD in computer science and has already led several successful start-ups. There are reports he is no longer associated with the crypto, due to strict regulations in South Korea.

The idea behind fantom was to create a crypto that would be suitable for smart cities with the ambitious goal of offering a processing speed of 300,000 transactions per second.

How many coins are in circulation?

For solana, there’s a total of 489 million coins planned for release, with around 260 million already in the market.

But 60 per cent of these coins are controlled by the project’s founders and its foundation, with only 38 per cent reserved for the community.

There are currently 2.5 billion fantom coins circulating out of a maximum supply of 3.1 billion.

Like bitcoin, there are a limited number of tokens available. Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

What are the price changes this year?

Solana has had an impressive rise starting the year trading at less than $US1.85 ($A2.54), but now jumped past the $US100 ($A137) mark. It means solana has posted more than a 3600 per cent gain this year alone.

Fantom hit a low of $US0.15 ($A0.21) on July 20, but it rocketed 500 per cent to $US0.90 ($A1.23) on Monday as its 24-hour trading volume exploded by 1250 per cent to a record $US1.26 billion ($A1.73 billion).

Why the huge spikes in value?

Prices have spiked because of the use of technology called smart contract blockchains and the projects it can host, alongside offering bank-grade security.

Basically people can use the tech on projects such as decentralised finance and trading, lending and digital collectibles like NFTs.

Jonas Luethy, a trader at London-based cryptocurrency broker GlobalBlock, said the booming popularity of NFTs, which are starting to catch the eye of celebrities, was the catalyst behind solana’s rally.

He said NFT sales in August hit a record of about $US900 million ($A1.23 billion).

For fantom, there are reports it hosts 200,000 daily transactions and has over 77,000 digital wallets on the platform.

The crypto sector continues to grow, as it continues to see wider mainstream adoption. Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

What’s driving solana’s worth?

Solana’s decentralised finance projects have also tripled in value in August alone, surpassing $US3 billion ($A4.1 billion) for the first time ever.

The digital coin is also said to be a threat to ethereum as its tech is more flexible, cheaper and offers faster transaction speeds. On its website, it boasts it can process 50,000 transactions per second through its tech.

Over the past week, solana has also picked up more than $US7 million ($A9.6 million) in net investment, according to crypto investment firm CoinShares, compared to a loss of $US2.8 million ($A3.8 million) for bitcoin.

Experts noted that solana was the only cryptocurrency in the top 10 rising in value over the past 24 hours

What about China’s influence on crypto?

While solana’s price skyrocketed nearly 220 per cent over the past month, it took a dive of nearly 60 per cent amid the crypto market crash due to regulations in China.

The US regulator is also investigating the cryptocurrency market and the tech behind it, which could be a threat to their growing popularity.