While Bitcoin remains the poster child of the crypto world, it’s Solana that’s been making waves recently. Especially when it comes to centralized enterprise payments for giants like Shopify and Visa. Surprisingly, Solana is emerging as a serious contender over the Lightning Network.
In this article, we’ll delve into why Solana is being adopted instead of the Lightning Network for centralized enterprise payments. With a particular focus on the regulatory aspect and other key factors contributing to Solana’s rise. Here are 3 reasons why this is happening.
1) Regulatory Clarity and Compliance
One of the primary reasons Solana is gaining ground in the enterprise payments space is regulatory clarity and compliance. Bitcoin, often viewed as a digital gold and not subject to direct financial regulations, has paved the way for a plethora of tokens. However, the regulatory framework surrounding Bitcoin is complex and evolving, particularly in the United States. The SEC classifies Bitcoin as a commodity rather than a security. This classification, while providing some level of regulatory certainty, also limits its utility in certain enterprise applications. Especially for companies like Shopify and Visa, which must adhere to stringent compliance standards.
On the other hand, Solana’s native token, SOL, and its associated ecosystem tokens are often considered more straightforward to integrate into Web2 companies. Solana is one of the altcoins that is getting regulated. Providing a level of confidence for businesses aiming to incorporate blockchain technology into their centralized payment systems. The distinct regulatory treatment of Solana tokens, as compared to the complex landscape of Bitcoin, makes it an attractive choice for enterprises seeking compliance with local and international regulations.
1/🏦Breaking: Visa Expands Stablecoin Settlement Pilot to Solana@Visa is scaling their USDC settlement pilot to include the Solana blockchain, enabling enterprise-grade throughput at virtually no cost for Visa issuers and merchant acquirers on Solana. https://t.co/rF5ouZaISM
— Solana (@solana) September 5, 2023
2) Smart Contract Capabilities
Solana’s robust smart contract capabilities are another reason for its increasing adoption among enterprises. While Bitcoin is primarily designed as a digital currency with limited programmability, Solana provides a versatile smart contract platform that enables developers to create complex decentralized applications (DApps) and automated payment processes. This flexibility and programmability make Solana a powerful tool for businesses looking to build custom payment solutions tailored to their specific needs.
Shopify, for instance, could leverage Solana’s smart contract capabilities to streamline its payment processing. Create loyalty reward programs, or even explore tokenized assets. Visa, on the other hand, could develop innovative payment solutions, including programmable payment contracts and instant settlement mechanisms. All made possible by Solana’s smart contract infrastructure.
1/ 🛍️Shopify 🤝Solana Pay
Today, Solana Pay integrates with @Shopify, empowering the millions of entrepreneurs and merchants on Shopify to accept fast, web3 native payments with no transaction fees through the end of 2023. https://t.co/q63KeBllXB
Learn more 👇 pic.twitter.com/QEb1LzqS51
— Solana (@solana) August 23, 2023
3) Ecosystem and Developer Support
Solana’s rapidly growing ecosystem and developer support have played a crucial role in its adoption for enterprise payments. The Solana community is actively expanding, with an increasing number of developers building on the platform and creating a wide range of DeFi (Decentralized Finance) products, NFT marketplaces, and payment solutions. This vibrant ecosystem is an attractive proposition for enterprises, as it offers access to a wealth of pre-built tools and solutions that can be easily integrated into their payment infrastructure.
Furthermore, Solana’s commitment to developer-friendly features, documentation, and support has made it an appealing choice for businesses seeking to innovate in the blockchain space. Unlike Bitcoin, which has a more limited development scope, Solana provides a fertile ground for enterprises to experiment and implement cutting-edge payment solutions with the support of an active and engaged developer community.
Co-founder @RuneKek of @MakerDAO, a DeFi protocol, proposes leveraging the Solana codebase for NewChain following extensive research.
He cites Solana’s technical quality, strong developer ecosystem, and resilience as primary reasons and suggests potential mutual benefits to the… https://t.co/p5w7pGf47h
— Solana (@solana) September 1, 2023
Conclusion
While Bitcoin remains a powerful and influential force in the cryptocurrency space, its regulatory classification as a commodity, scalability limitations, and limited smart contract capabilities have created opportunities for newer blockchain platforms like Solana to thrive in the enterprise payments arena. On the other hand, Solana’s regulatory clarity, scalability, smart contract capabilities, growing ecosystem, and developer support make it an enticing choice for centralized enterprises like Shopify and Visa as they seek to harness the benefits of blockchain technology for their payment systems.
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Disclaimer
The information discussed by Altcoin Buzz is not financial advice. This is for educational, entertainment, and informational purposes only. Any information or strategies are thoughts and opinions relevant to the accepted levels of risk tolerance of the writer/reviewers and their risk tolerance may be different than yours. We are not responsible for any losses that you may incur as a result of any investments directly or indirectly related to the information provided. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are high-risk investments so please do your due diligence. Copyright Altcoin Buzz Pte Ltd.
