Solana uses Proof of History as part of its consensus mechanism.
Proof of History, or PoH, is a cryptographic method for establishing the passage of time and ordering events before they are processed by the network. Solana combines it with proof of stake: PoH provides a verifiable sequence of timestamps, while validators stake SOL and participate in securing and validating the chain. PoH is therefore not a replacement for the entire consensus system.
Anatoly Yakovenko described the underlying idea in Solana’s technical design, which aimed to reduce the coordination overhead that can slow distributed networks. Solana Labs launched the network publicly in March 2020, with SOL as its native cryptocurrency and smart contracts as a central use case.
The common mistake is to call Proof of History a standalone consensus algorithm. It is better understood as a time-ordering component within Solana’s broader proof-of-stake architecture. Polkadot and Cardano use different proof-of-stake designs, while Ethereum now uses proof of stake without Solana’s Proof of History system.