So it goes: PoH is short for Proof of History, which is actually quite revolutionary in the blockchain world. Solana applies this technology, and honestly, the concept is pretty interesting when you think about it.

What makes PoH different from traditional blockchain systems is simple but powerful. Usually, in any blockchain, the network has to reach consensus on two things at the same time: the transactions that occur AND when those transactions happen. Well, PoH is a solution that basically says, “Why don’t we embed time directly into the blockchain?” The result? The load on network nodes is drastically reduced.

Technically, Solana uses Verifiable Delay Functions or VDFs for this implementation. The concept is simple: only one core CPU can complete a VDF by running a series of steps in sequence. It can’t be parallelized, so it’s very easy to calculate how long each step takes. This is what makes PoH a highly accurate timekeeping mechanism that’s difficult to manipulate.

Solana also doesn’t stop there. They combine PoH with Tower Byzantine Fault Tolerance, a security system that allows users to stake tokens for validation. It’s this combination that enables Solana to run super fast and cheaply.

The advantages are clear: transactions on Solana are much cheaper than Ethereum, and the processing speed is much higher. The scalability gained from PoH is truly a game changer for use cases that need high throughput.

But of course, there are trade-offs. Solana currently still uses fewer than 1,200 validators, far fewer than Ethereum. And its dApps ecosystem is also still developing—about 350 applications on Solana versus more than 3,000 on Ethereum. So even though it’s often called an “Ethereum killer,” the reality is that it’s still a long way from that.

What needs to be understood is that PoH is a Proof of Stake-based mechanism, but with a unique time calculation method. This isn’t traditional PoW, and that’s what gives Solana distinct characteristics in today’s blockchain landscape.