Solana could become the “Visa of the digital asset ecosystem”, according to the Bank of America (BoA). And speaking of Visa, its new survey shows that 24% of SMBs are planning to take crypto payments.
The BoA made its call in a research note to clients this week according to a Business Insider report, indicating Solana could take further market share away from Ethereum.
“[Solana’s] ability to provide high throughput, low cost and ease of use creates a blockchain optimised for consumer use cases like micropayments, DeFi, NFTs, decentralised networks (Web3) and gaming,” said the BoA’s digital asset strategist Alkesh Shah.
“Ethereum prioritises decentralisation and security,” added Shah, “but at the expense of scalability, which has led to periods of network congestion and transaction fees that are occasionally larger than the value of the transaction being sent.”
Solana has its critics, however, who believe its high throughput speed comes at the expense of decentralisation, security and stability. The blockchain has had recurring network issues over the past 12 months, experiencing four unexpected periods of offline downtime in that period.
Shah addressed those concerns, however, stating that “Solana prioritises scalability, but a relatively less decentralised and secure blockchain has trade-offs, illustrated by several network performance issues since inception.”
Solana is currently the fifth largest crypto by market cap with a valuation of US$47.58 billion. Ethereum, second in line behind Bitcoin on the crypto charts, has a market cap of US$403.15 billion.
According to the BoA research note, that valuation gap is an opportunity for Solana, as its differentiation is “proving successful”, suggesting it, along with other blockchains, could continue to grab market share from Ethereum over time.
Visa survey points to SMB adoption
Meanwhile, a new survey conducted by payments giant Visa indicates that almost one in four (24%) small and mid-size businesses (SMBs) have plans to accept payments in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies.
The study, conducted in December, surveyed 2,250 small business owners and 5,000 consumer adults in Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Russia, Singapore, UAE and US.
Among these respondents, 82% said they plan to implement a form of digital payment option in 2022, and 73% believe accepting new digital payment options is a key factor that will affect business growth in 2022.