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Solana, explained for beginners

New to Solana?
Start here.

Solana is a fast, low-cost blockchain for payments, trading, digital collectibles and more. This free guide shows you how to set up a wallet, buy your first SOL and swap tokens safely, then introduces the top Solana projects and what each one does.

Start in six stepsSee the top projects

Independent and free: not affiliated with the Solana Foundation or any project listed. Education, not financial advice.

The basics

Solana in
plain words.

Solana is a public blockchain: a shared record of who owns what, kept by more than 1,000 independent computers (validators) around the world. Apps built on it let you pay, trade, save and collect without a bank in the middle. These are the words you will meet first.

Getting started

Six steps to
your first swap.

Take them in order and use small amounts until you feel comfortable. Each step links to Solana's own beginner guide if you want more detail.

  1. Install a wallet

    Choose a well-known wallet such as Phantom, Solflare or Backpack, and download it only from its official website or your phone's official app store. Fake wallet apps are a common trap.

    What is a wallet?

  2. Write down your recovery phrase

    Your new wallet shows 12 or 24 words. Write them on paper, in order, and keep them somewhere safe. Never photograph them, type them into a website or share them: no real support team will ever ask for them.

    Staying safe on Solana

  3. Buy SOL

    Buy SOL with your own currency on a licensed exchange, or with a card inside your wallet app where that is offered. The next section compares the options.

    On and off ramps

  4. Move SOL to your wallet

    Copy your wallet address, withdraw SOL from the exchange on the Solana network and send a small test amount first. It usually arrives seconds after the exchange sends it.

    Sending and receiving SOL

  5. Swap for other tokens

    Use your wallet's Swap button or a swap app such as Jupiter to trade SOL for USDC or another token. Check the token's contract address before you buy.

    Solana tokens

  6. Explore safely

    Try staking, lending or collectibles with small amounts first. Bookmark official sites, ignore unexpected messages and free tokens, and always keep some SOL for fees.

    Exploring apps

How to buy SOL

Three ways to get
your first SOL.

Almost everything on Solana starts with SOL. Pick the route that suits you: many people buy on an exchange once, then do everything else from their wallet.

  • Most common

    A crypto exchange

    Open an account with an exchange that is licensed in your country, verify your identity, pay in your own currency and buy SOL. Fees are usually the lowest this way, and you can sell back to your bank the same way.

  • Quickest start

    Your wallet app

    Phantom, Solflare and other wallets let you buy SOL with a debit card or bank transfer through payment partners, where they are available in your country. Fast and simple, but fees are usually higher.

  • For a first test

    Someone you know

    A friend who already uses Solana can send SOL straight to your address. It is a good way to try your first transfer, and it takes seconds.

Buying on an exchange, step by step

  1. Pick a licensed exchange

    Look it up on your regulator's list below. Make sure it lists SOL and lets you withdraw it on the Solana network.

  2. Sign up and verify your identity

    Licensed exchanges must check your ID. Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) as soon as your account is open.

  3. Add money

    Deposit your own currency by bank transfer or another method the exchange supports.

  4. Buy SOL

    A market order buys straight away at the current price. A limit order waits until the price reaches the level you set.

  5. Withdraw to your wallet

    Choose Withdraw, pick SOL and the Solana network, and paste your wallet address. Check the first and last characters, send a small test, then the rest.

  6. Keep some SOL for fees

    Leave a little SOL in your wallet. Each new token you hold needs a refundable deposit of about 0.002 SOL, and every transaction pays a small fee.

Pick the right network

When you withdraw, choose the Solana network (often labeled Solana or SOL). A withdrawal on another network may never arrive in your wallet, and funds sent that way can be lost.

Find a service in your country

Solana's own directory lists services that move money on and off Solana in more than 100 countries. Filter it by your country and currency.

Open Solana's ramp directory

Check that your exchange is licensed

Rules differ from country to country. Before you sign up, look the exchange up on your financial regulator's official list.

  • Japan

    Financial Services Agency (FSA)

    Crypto exchanges must register with the FSA. Its list names each exchange and the coins it handles.

    Official list

  • South Korea

    Korea Financial Intelligence Unit (KoFIU)

    Crypto businesses must report to KoFIU, part of the Financial Services Commission. The list is updated every month.

    Official list

  • Thailand

    Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

    Exchanges need a digital asset business license, and the SEC lists every licensed operator.

    Official list

  • Malaysia

    Securities Commission Malaysia (SC)

    Exchanges must be registered as a Digital Asset Exchange (DAX); running one without registration is an offense.

    Official list

  • Indonesia

    Financial Services Authority (OJK)

    Crypto traders must be licensed by OJK, which took over their supervision from Bappebti in January 2025.

    Official list

  • Vietnam

    Ministry of Finance and State Securities Commission

    Vietnam is licensing its first crypto trading platforms under a five-year government pilot. Only platforms the Ministry of Finance licenses may offer crypto services; check the State Securities Commission for the latest.

    Official website

  • Hong Kong

    Securities and Futures Commission (SFC)

    Trading platforms must be licensed by the SFC. Use only the licensed list: applicants on the same page are not licensed.

    Official list

  • Taiwan

    Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC)

    Crypto providers must complete anti-money-laundering registration with the FSC before they operate.

    Official list

  • Singapore

    Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)

    Crypto service providers need a MAS license. Its directory lists the licensed digital payment token services.

    Official list

  • Mainland China

    People's Bank of China (PBoC)

    Crypto trading and exchange services are prohibited in mainland China, including foreign platforms serving residents (People's Bank of China notice of February 2026).

    Read the notice

Not listed here? Search for your country's financial regulator and its list of licensed crypto exchanges, or use Solana's ramp directory above.

How to buy tokens on Solana

Swap SOL for
any Solana token.

Once SOL is in your wallet, you can buy almost any Solana token by swapping: one token goes out, another comes in, in a single transaction that you approve in your wallet.

  1. Open a swap

    Tap Swap in your wallet, or connect your wallet to a swap app such as Jupiter. Swap apps compare prices across many markets for you.

  2. Choose both sides

    Pick what you pay (for example SOL) and what you want to receive (for example USDC), then enter an amount.

  3. Check the contract address

    Names and logos can be copied; the contract address cannot. Compare it with the project's official website or X account, and be wary of tokens your wallet does not mark as verified.

  4. Read the quote

    Look at how much you will receive, the price impact and the fees. A high price impact means few buyers and sellers, and you would lose value.

  5. Approve in your wallet

    Your wallet previews how your balances will change. If that matches what you expect, approve; the new token appears within seconds.

The words on a swap screen

Rate
How much of one token you get for the other, before fees.
Price impact
How much your own trade moves the price. The higher it is, the more value you lose; a very high number means a thin market.
Slippage limit
The most the price may move before your swap is cancelled instead of filling at a worse price. Wallets and swap apps usually set it for you.
Network fee
Solana's fee for the transaction, paid in SOL. A swap app may add its own fee, shown in the quote.
Priority fee
An optional extra that helps a transaction go through faster when the network is busy.
Route
The markets your swap passes through to get the best price.

Before you buy a new token

  • The contract address matches the project's official website or X account.
  • Your wallet or swap app marks the token as verified, or you understand why it does not.
  • There is enough trading that you could sell it again.
  • Nobody is rushing you with countdowns, direct messages or promises of guaranteed profit.
  • You only use money you can afford to lose. Most new tokens, and most memecoins, lose value.

The real stablecoin addresses

Fake copies use the same names and logos. These are the genuine contract addresses on Solana, checked against Jupiter's verified token list.

  • USDCUSD CoinIssued by Circle
    EPjFWdd5AufqSSqeM2qN1xzybapC8G4wEGGkZwyTDt1v
    Solscan
  • USDTTether USDIssued by Tether
    Es9vMFrzaCERmJfrF4H2FYD4KCoNkY11McCe8BenwNYB
    Solscan
  • PYUSDPayPal USDIssued by Paxos for PayPal
    2b1kV6DkPAnxd5ixfnxCpjxmKwqjjaYmCZfHsFu24GXo
    Solscan

Selling and cashing out

Swap back to SOL or USDC in your wallet, send it to your exchange's deposit address on the Solana network (add the memo if the exchange shows one), sell it for your currency and withdraw to your bank.

Keep records of what you buy and sell: in many countries, selling or swapping crypto can be taxable.

Directory

Top Solana projects,
and what they do.

47 well-known, widely used apps and networks on Solana, grouped by what you would use them for. Each card explains the project in a sentence or two and opens its official website, so you never land on a lookalike. A listing is not a recommendation: always do your own research.

Wallets

Where your SOL and tokens live. Each of these is self-custody: you hold the recovery phrase, not the company.

Swap and trade

Exchanges that run on Solana itself (DEXs). You trade straight from your wallet, without an account.

Advanced trading

Perpetual futures: bets on a price going up or down, usually with borrowed money (leverage).

Leverage multiplies losses as well as gains, and a position can be closed out (liquidated) in minutes. Learn the basics first; this is not a place to start.

Stake your SOL

Staking helps secure Solana and earns rewards. You can stake straight from Phantom or Solflare, or use liquid staking, which gives you a token that keeps earning while you use it elsewhere.

Lend, borrow and earn

Money markets: deposit tokens to earn interest, or borrow against what you hold.

Borrowing can be liquidated if prices fall, and every app carries smart-contract risk. Deposit only what you understand.

Stablecoins and payments

Digital dollars that move at Solana speed, and the tools that let shops accept them.

NFTs and collectibles

Marketplaces and tools for digital art, collectibles and other one-of-a-kind items.

Memecoins and launchpads

Community tokens with no business behind them, and the sites where they are born.

Memecoin prices can rise or crash within minutes, and most new ones fall to almost nothing. Treat them as entertainment and only use money you can afford to lose.

Real-world networks

Projects that reward people with tokens for building real-world networks: wireless coverage, maps and computing power.

Move funds between blockchains

Bridges move tokens between Solana and other blockchains such as Ethereum.

Check the destination blockchain and address twice: a transfer to the wrong one is hard or impossible to undo.

Prices, charts and explorers

Look up any token, wallet or transaction, and follow prices and activity.

Phones and infrastructure

The hardware and the behind-the-scenes networks that Solana apps rely on.

Stay safe

Seven habits that
stop most scams.

On Solana you are your own bank, which also means nobody can reverse a mistake for you. These habits, drawn from Solana's own safety guide, prevent most losses.

  1. 01

    Never share your recovery phrase

    Not with support staff, a website or a friend. Anyone who has it can empty your wallet, and no real support team will ever ask for it.

  2. 02

    Bookmark official sites

    Scammers copy websites and buy search ads. Open apps from your bookmarks or from the links on this page, and check the address bar.

  3. 03

    Ignore messages you did not ask for

    Real support never sends you a direct message first. Anyone offering to recover or validate your wallet is a scammer.

  4. 04

    Be wary of free tokens

    Unknown tokens or NFTs that appear in your wallet often lead to draining sites. Do not open their links or try to sell them; hide them instead.

  5. 05

    Read before you approve

    Your wallet shows what a transaction will do. If it would move assets you did not expect, or you do not understand it, reject it.

  6. 06

    Start small and split your wallets

    Test new apps with small amounts. Keep savings in a separate wallet, ideally a hardware wallet, and use another one every day.

  7. 07

    Distrust guaranteed returns

    No one can promise profits. Pressure to act fast, countdowns and offers to double your SOL are signs of a scam.

If you think your wallet is compromised

Create a brand-new wallet with a new recovery phrase, move whatever is left into it straight away, and stop using the old one. Ignore anyone who contacts you offering to recover your funds: that is a second scam.

FAQ

Questions,
answered plainly.

Where details can change, the official sites linked on this page are the source of truth.

Do I need SOL to use Solana?

Yes, a little. Every transaction pays a small fee in SOL, even when you send USDC or another token, and each new token in your wallet needs a refundable deposit of about 0.002 SOL. Some apps pay fees for you, but it is wise to keep some SOL in your wallet.

How much does a transaction cost?

The base fee is 0.000005 SOL, a fraction of a US cent. When the network is busy you can add a small priority fee to go through faster; wallets usually set it for you.

How long does a transfer take?

Usually one to two seconds. A withdrawal from an exchange can take longer, because the exchange has to send it first.

What is the difference between SOL and USDC?

SOL is Solana's own coin, and its price moves with the market. USDC is a stablecoin designed to stay worth one US dollar. Many people hold USDC between trades and keep a little SOL for fees.

What if I send to the wrong address or network?

Solana transactions are final, so a transfer to a wrong address cannot be reversed. If you withdrew on the wrong network from an exchange, contact that exchange's official support; it may or may not be able to help.

What is a contract address?

Every Solana token has a unique address that identifies it, also called its mint address. Anyone can copy a name and a logo, but not the address, so it is the reliable way to tell a real token from a fake.

Is staking safe?

Staking from your wallet keeps your SOL under your control. New stake can take up to a few days to start earning, rewards vary, and unstaking can also take a few days. Liquid staking adds smart-contract risk in exchange for flexibility.

Do I have to pay tax?

In many countries, selling or swapping crypto can be taxable. Keep records of your transactions and check your local rules.

Is this page financial advice?

No. It explains how things work and lists well-known projects so you can find their official sites. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy any token, and prices can fall as well as rise.

Why these projects?

They are among the most widely used and longest-running projects on Solana, grouped by what you would use them for. Projects change, so always confirm the details on the official site.

Keep learning

Go further,
at your own pace.

Solana's own free course goes deeper on every topic above, and StonkBuilder Community keeps a few more guides.