The proof-of-stake cryptocurrency Solana enjoyed a hefty boost during the popular music festival after it was advertised prominently during the opening day of the Lollapalooza music festival.

Day one of the three-day festival kicked off yesterday with a bang. Headline acts included Miley Cyrus, Playboi Carti, Steve Aoki—and Solana. 

That’s because the crypto project has sponsored one of the Lollapalooza stages. Videos posted on social media reveal a Solana “pool float” and a large banner advertisement atop Perry’s stage. 

Solana is a relative newcomer to the crypto space; akin to Ethereum, but with a few key differences. Notably, it uses a proof of stake (PoS) consensus algorithm rather than proof of work (PoW), like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

This makes the blockchain far less energy-intensive than its rivals as well as allowing the network to scale transaction throughput.

Solana is also powering Lollapalooza’s newly-launched non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace. NFTs on sale include a $1,000 digitized version of the 1991 Lollapalooza poster, various $25 gifs of festival locations, and free images of sunglasses.

NFTs are a type of crypto-based token that represents ownership of digital assets, be they music, images, gifs, or videos. Though the majority of NFTs have been built on Ethereum, other blockchains have also been building out NFT ecosystems.

Pair of Solana sunglasses
“Solana Summer” sunglasses at the Lollapalooza NFT marketplace. Source: Lollapalooza

'Solana Summer' sees hot start

With the highly popular music festival kicking off yesterday, it appears that the Solana-laden advertising throughout Lollapalooza has been effective. 

SOL, Solana’s native token, has risen by 6.95% in price over the past 24 hours, making it one of the top gainers according to Nomics.

The festival ends on August 1, but the community behind the token is still bullish on a never-ending “Solana Summer.”

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed by the author are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice.

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