Solana’s second smartphone hits 100,000 pre-orders

Solana’s second smartphone has surpassed 100,000 pre-orders, Solana announced on Monday. 

The mobile phones had a pre-order price of US$450 amassing US$45 million for the blockchain company. 

The Saga phone is part of Solana’s broader ambition to expand its ecosystem and make decentralized finance (DeFi) and other blockchain services more accessible.

Solana’s first phone, Saga, was designed to provide a seamless interface for cryptocurrency transactions and decentralized applications (dapps), making it easier for users to manage their digital assets on the go. 

Although initially criticized for its US$1,000 price tag, Saga owners were compensated with complementary crypto assets, including ones that were later airdropped.

Solana blockchain has the second-highest sales volume for non-fungible tokens (NFT) with over US$4.9 billion, behind Ethereum’s US$42 billion, according to CryptoSlam data.

Solana’s network is often criticized for frequent outages. Its most recent outage, which occurred last week, broke the blockchain’s streak of staying online for almost a year without disruptions. 

SOL, the native cryptocurrency of Solana rose 15% over the past week to trade at US$110, according to CoinGecko data.