According to the Investopedia article, Solana is a blockchain platform that aims to rival Ethereum in terms of speed and functionality. It uses a unique proof-of-history (PoH) consensus mechanism that allows it to process transactions much faster than Ethereum. Solana can reportedly handle thousands of transactions per second, compared to Ethereum's 15-30 transactions per second.
The article also discusses Solana's potential use cases, such as decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and supply chain management. However, it also mentions that Solana has faced challenges in terms of scalability and network outages.
Source: https://www.investopedia.com/solana-5210472