Solana (SOL) - Crypto Asset Statement
PLEASE READ THIS CAREFUL. BY PROCEEDING TO TRANSACT SOL, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND ACCEPT THE STATEMENTS SET OUT BELOW.
About this Summary
Ndax Canada Inc. (“Ndax”, “we” and “our”) believes that our users should understand the crypto assets that they are able to trade and stake using our crypto trading platform (the “Platform”). One of the crypto assets we offer on the Platform is SOL. We created this summary to help you understand the basics of SOL as well as some of the risks involved in trading in SOL. While we tried to describe the key features of SOL, this summary isn’t meant to tell you everything you’d want to know before investing in SOL. You should also do your own research on SOL to make sure you are comfortable investing in it.
Description of SOL
History of SOL
The Solana (SOL) platform was founded back in 2017 by Anatoly Yakovenko. Anatoly later teamed up with former Qualcomm colleagues Greg Fitzgerald and Stephen Akridge, and three others to found the company that would eventually become Solana Labs. The founding team included former Apple engineers in addition to the Qualcomm veterans.
Solana launched on Mainnet Beta in March 2020, shortly after raising $1.76 million in a public token auction hosted on CoinList. The project's beta network featured basic transaction capabilities and smart contract support. Solana can purportedly handle 50,000 transactions per second.
What is SOL used for
Solana can power several applications that offer a variety of features, including smart contracts, NFTs, decentralized finance, and various digital apps.
The SOL token is the native currency in Solana’s ecosystem and is used to interact with various decentralized apps and to make payments. SOL also has additional use cases, including governance and staking the token to earn additional rewards. Its maximum supply caps at 489 million SOL.
How SOL works
Solana’s major innovation is speed through new technologies including a consensus mechanism called proof of history. Because of this, it can process many more transactions per second, and has much lower transaction fees, than rival blockchains like Ethereum.
The concept of Solana’s Proof of History consensus mechanism involves proving that a message occurred before or after a known event, rather than relying on a timestamp. Solana uses Bitcoin’s SHA256 mining algorithm with the addition of a Verifiable Delay Function to create a historical record of events on the blockchain.
Risks
Before entering into an agreement (a “Crypto Contract”) with Ndax to buy or sell any crypto assets through the Platform, it is important to understand the risks. This overview is a starting point for you to perform your own research prior to investing in a crypto asset.
Like other crypto assets, there are some general risks associated with investing in SOL. We describe many of these general risks in the risk statement we publish on our website that you have already acknowledged, including risks relating to: (i) short history; (ii) volatility in the price of crypto assets and loss of liquidity; (iii) potential decrease in global demand for crypto assets; (iv) The blockchains on which crypto assets operate may temporarily or permanently fork or halt; airdrops; (v) issues with the cryptography underlying the Crypto networks; (vi) custodial wallet systems; (vii) uncertainty in regulation and future financial institution support; (viii) currency risks; (ix) concentration risks; (x) electronic trading and dependence on the internet; (xi) cyber security risks; (xii) inadequate due diligence; (xiii) Ndax’s reliance on vendors and third-party service providers; (xiv) liquidity constraints; (xv) no voting rights; (xvi) lack of investor protection insurance; (xvii) commissions and other charges for trading; (xviii) no advise; (xix) transfers; (xx) beta features; (xxi) unforeseeable risks; and (xxii) conflicts of interest. We also point out a risk that is specific to SOL below. While we tried to describe the key risks associated with SOL here and in our risk statement, these aren’t all of the risks associated with trading in SOL. You should also do your own research on SOL to make sure you are comfortable investing in it.
Network downtime
Multiple events in 2022 have caused significant amounts of downtime on the Solana network. On January 21, 2022, a denial-of service attack caused an outage that lasted approximately 48 hours. On February 2, 2022, the Wormhole bridge, a protocol that allows users to move tokens and NFTs between various blockchains, experienced an exploit leading to losses totalling over USD$320 million. At the time, this was the second largest DeFi exploit ever and remains the largest attack on the Solana Network to date.
Future development of the network
Governance mechanisms are not currently integrated into the Solana Network, meaning that members of the Solana community do not have a say in the future development of or changes to the Solana Network. Rather, decisions about changes to the Solana Network are made by the Solana Foundation and Solana Labs.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure
Ndax has assessed potential conflicts of interest associated with the offering, and ongoing availability of SOL through the Platform. As of the date of this statement, Ndax has not identified any actual, material, or reasonably foreseeable conflict of interest that would be expected to impair our ability to act in the best interests of clients or to make fair, objective, and independent decisions regarding SOL. Ndax maintains policies and procedures designed to identify, manage, and address conflicts of interest on an ongoing basis and will update our disclosures if any material conflict is identified in the future. For additional information about the material conflicts of interest identified by us, please refer to our Conflicts of Interest Statement, the latest version of which can be found on our Website.
Regulatory Information
Ndax is a registered investment dealer under securities legislation in all provinces and territories of Canada, and is a member of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) and of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). Ndax is offering Crypto Contracts in reliance on a prospectus exemption contained in the exemptive relief decision Re NDAX Canada Inc. dated December 19, 2024 (found here) and under the terms and conditions imposed by CIRO on Ndax’s membership with CIRO (found here). Any fiat currency held in users’ accounts is protected by CIPF’s Investment Dealer Fund in accordance with its Coverage Policy. However, CIPF coverage does not extend to any virtual assets held in users accounts. These assets are not eligible for deposit insurance or any protection from the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) or CIPF.
Please be aware that the statutory rights of action for damages and the right of rescission in the securities legislation of each province and territory of Canada do not apply in respect of a misrepresentation in this Crypto Asset Statement.
Prior to offering a Crypto Contract on SOL, Ndax assesses whether SOL is a security and/or a derivative under the securities and derivatives laws of Canada. Ndax’s assessment includes a review of the history of SOL (such as how it was created and its governance structure), its characteristics, its market capitalization and any regulatory concern regarding SOL. Based on its assessment, Ndax concluded that SOL is not a security or a derivative. However, there is a risk that this conclusion could change in the future. In that case, Ndax may be required to halt or withdraw SOL from trading on the Platform and stop any future trading of Crypto Contracts based on SOL, and users holding SOL may be required to liquidate their positions, potentially at a significant loss. In this event, users holding positions in SOL will be notified via the Platform or other electronic means and advised of the options available to them and any applicable period to sell or withdraw their positions in SOL.
No Canadian securities regulatory authority has expressed an opinion about SOL, including an opinion that SOL is not itself a security and/or derivative.
Last Updated: August 11, 2026