Intro: Like Ethereum, Solana is a smart contract blockchain that facilitates general applications, from DeFi to NFT use cases and beyond. Where Ethereum and Solana fundamentally differ is in their design philosophies.Monolithic: Ethereum employs a “modular” approach, balancing its decentralization, security, and scalability needs via external data availability (DA) and Layer 2 (L2) scaling solutions. In contrast, Solana uses a “monolithic” approach in handling all its execution, data, and security demands. There are tradeoffs both ways, with Solana’s main differentiator being how it optimizes for speed within a single shared global state.Ripe for NFTs: Because of Solana’s architectural choices, the chain is designed to support many 1,000s of transactions per second (TPS). Additionally, Solana transactions don’t have “gas prices” as the network hasn’t introduced usage-based pricing yet, so currently, there is a fixed-rate cost of 0.000005 SOL per Solana transaction. This speed and affordability have fostered fertile ground for the network’s rising NFT scene.