How to Build & Deploy Smart Contracts on Solana

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Solana has rapidly emerged as one of the most powerful and scalable blockchain platforms, designed to overcome the performance bottlenecks that plague older networks. Introduced in 2017 by Anatoly Yakovenko, Solana’s architecture enables it to process up to 710,000 transactions per second on a standard gigabit network—making it a top contender for global decentralized application (dApp) adoption.

With over 400 active projects across Web3, DeFi, NFTs, and more, Solana stands out for its speed, low transaction costs, and innovative consensus mechanism: Proof of History (PoH). This unique approach allows Solana to achieve unmatched throughput and scalability, positioning it as a preferred ecosystem for developers building high-frequency, growth-oriented dApps.

This guide walks you through the complete process of building and deploying smart contracts on Solana, from setting up your development environment to launching your first program on the Devnet.

Understanding Solana Blockchain

Solana is an open-source, decentralized blockchain platform engineered for high-performance decentralized applications. Unlike traditional blockchains that struggle with congestion and slow confirmation times, Solana leverages cutting-edge technologies developed by engineers from Intel, Google, Qualcomm, and Netscape to maintain exceptional speed and efficiency.

Its core innovation—Proof of History—acts as a cryptographic clock that timestamps transactions before they’re processed, significantly reducing verification time and enabling parallel transaction processing. This results in faster finality and higher throughput without sacrificing security.

Solana supports a wide range of use cases including decentralized finance (DeFi), non-fungible tokens (NFTs), wallets, and decentralized exchanges (DEXs), making it a versatile platform for modern blockchain development.

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Architecture of Solana Smart Contracts

One of the key differences between Solana and EVM-based blockchains like Ethereum lies in smart contract architecture.

In Ethereum, smart contracts combine both program logic and state within a single entity. On Solana, this model is decoupled:

This separation enhances security, scalability, and flexibility. When a user interacts with a Solana program, they submit a transaction that references both the program and the relevant accounts. The program then processes the instruction and updates the account state accordingly.

Additionally, Solana provides:

This modular architecture allows developers to build complex applications while maintaining clean separation between code and data.

How to Build a Smart Contract on Solana

Let’s walk through creating and deploying a simple “Hello World” smart contract on Solana using Rust—the primary language for Solana program development.

Step 1: Set Up Your Development Environment

To develop on Solana, you’ll need the following tools installed:

If you're on Windows, it's recommended to use WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) with Ubuntu for smoother development.

Run these commands in your terminal to install dependencies:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install nodejs npm python3-pip -y
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
sh -c "$(curl -sSfL https://release.solana.com/v1.5.7/install)"
source $HOME/.cargo/env
export PATH="/root/.local/share/solana/install/active_release/bin:$PATH"

Verify installation:

solana --version
rustc --version
node --version

Start the local test validator:

solana-test-validator --log

Clone the example repository:

git clone https://github.com/solana-labs/example-helloworld.git
cd example-helloworld
npm install
npm run build:program-rust

Step 2: Write the Smart Contract in Rust

The “Hello World” program will:

Here’s a breakdown of the core code:

use borsh::{BorshDeserialize, BorshSerialize};
use solana_program::{
    account_info::{next_account_info, AccountInfo},
    entrypoint,
    entrypoint::ProgramResult,
    msg,
    program_error::ProgramError,
    pubkey::Pubkey,
};

#[derive(BorshSerialize, BorshDeserialize, Debug)]
pub struct GreetingAccount {
    pub counter: u32,
}

entrypoint!(process_instruction);

pub fn process_instruction(
    program_id: &Pubkey,
    accounts: &[AccountInfo],
    _instruction_data: &[u8],
) -> ProgramResult {
    msg!("Hello World Rust program entrypoint");

    let account = next_account_info(&mut accounts.iter())?;

    if account.owner != program_id {
        return Err(ProgramError::IncorrectProgramId);
    }

    let mut greeting_account = GreetingAccount::try_from_slice(&account.data.borrow())?;
    greeting_account.counter += 1;
    greeting_account.serialize(&mut &mut account.data.borrow_mut()[..])?;

    msg!("Greeted {} time(s)!", greeting_account.counter);
    Ok(())
}

This contract defines a GreetingAccount struct to store the counter and uses Borsh serialization for efficient data handling.

Step 3: Deploy the Smart Contract

Now that the program is built, deploy it to Solana’s Devnet for testing.

  1. Set the network:

    solana config set --url https://api.devnet.solana.com

  2. Generate a keypair:

    solana-keygen new --force

  3. Request test SOL tokens:

    solana airdrop 5

  4. Build the program:

    npm run build:program-rust

  5. Deploy:

    solana program deploy dist/program/helloworld.so

Upon successful deployment, you’ll receive a Program ID. You can verify your deployment using the Solana Explorer.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: What programming language is used for Solana smart contracts?

A: Rust is the primary language for writing Solana programs due to its performance and memory safety. C and C++ are also supported.

Q: How does Solana achieve high speed and scalability?

A: Through Proof of History (PoH), which creates a verifiable timestamp sequence, allowing nodes to agree on time without waiting for consensus—enabling parallel processing and faster finality.

Q: Can I interact with Solana smart contracts using JavaScript?

A: Yes! Use the @solana/web3.js SDK to build frontends and interact with deployed programs via JSON RPC.

Q: Is Solana EVM-compatible?

A: No, Solana is not EVM-compatible. It uses its own runtime environment called Sealevel, optimized for parallel execution.

Q: What are accounts in Solana?

A: Accounts store data such as balances, program state, or executable code. Unlike Ethereum, every account can hold arbitrary data and has rent-exemption rules.

Q: How much does it cost to deploy a smart contract on Solana?

A: Deployment costs vary based on program size but are generally low—typically under $1 on Devnet or Mainnet Beta using test or real SOL.

Final Thoughts

Solana offers a powerful, scalable foundation for building next-generation decentralized applications. Its unique architecture separates program logic from state storage, enabling efficient, secure, and high-throughput dApp development.

Whether you're building DeFi protocols, NFT marketplaces, or Web3 social platforms, mastering smart contract development on Solana opens doors to a rapidly expanding ecosystem.

With comprehensive developer tools like the Solana CLI, web3.js SDK, and robust documentation, getting started has never been easier.

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As adoption grows and tooling improves, now is the ideal time to dive into Solana development and contribute to the future of decentralized technology.