Dec 9, 20254 min readComparisons & MatricesIntermediate

Ergo vs Solana: TPS vs Sovereignty

High throughput or high decentralization — pick your side.

Ergo

Solana

TPS

throughput

sovereignty

decentralization

PoW

PoS

validators

VC funding

Infographic titled “Ergo vs Solana: TPS vs Sovereignty”. On the left, a decentralized GPU miner network with high decentralization, security and sustainability for Ergo. On the right, a large speedometer showing 65,000+ TPS and data centers for Solana, plus comparison blocks for hardware requirements, launch & funding and focus.

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About This Infographic

This infographic contrasts two very different priorities in L1 design: Ergo’s focus on decentralization, sovereignty and sustainable PoW versus Solana’s focus on maximum throughput and TPS.

On the Ergo side, GPU-friendly PoW and broad miner participation aim to keep decentralization, security and sustainability high, aligning with cypherpunk-style sovereignty.

On the Solana side, extremely high TPS targets and complex validator requirements are supported by significant VC funding and large operators, trading off decentralization for raw throughput.

Decentralization and Sovereignty

Ergo: High decentralization, high security and high sustainability via Autolykos-style PoW.
Solana: Focus on performance and throughput, with decentralization more constrained by infrastructure requirements.
Sovereignty is framed as the ability of regular users and miners to participate without relying on a small set of large validators.

Hardware, Validators and Launch Model

Ergo: GPU-friendly PoW encourages broad miner participation, lowering the barrier to join consensus.
Solana: High-end validator hardware and complex setups favor fewer, larger operators.
Ergo launched with no VC, no premine and fair mining from genesis, whereas Solana involved significant VC funding and insider allocations.

Focus and Trade-offs

Ergo’s focus: cypherpunk-style sovereignty, censorship resistance and sustainable PoW economics.
Solana’s focus: maximum TPS and throughput, accepting trade-offs in decentralization and hardware accessibility.
Builders and users must decide whether they prioritize sovereignty and openness or raw performance metrics like TPS.

Key Points

Ergo emphasizes high decentralization, strong security and sustainable PoW, targeting sovereignty over maximum TPS.

Solana targets 65,000+ TPS and high throughput, with validator and infrastructure requirements that favor large, well-funded operators.

Ergo uses GPU-friendly PoW so a wide range of participants can help secure the network.

Solana relies on high-end validator hardware and data-center level setups, which can concentrate control.

Ergo launched with no VC, no premine and fair mining from genesis, while Solana involved significant VC funding and insider allocations.

How to Read This Infographic

01.

Start with the left vs right panels: left shows Ergo’s decentralized miner network and sovereignty metrics, right shows Solana’s speedometer and TPS-centric design.

02.

Move down to the comparison rows for hardware & validator requirements and launch & funding to understand who can realistically participate and who holds power.

03.

Finish with the focus row to see how each chain prioritizes either cypherpunk sovereignty and sustainable PoW or maximum TPS with trade-offs in decentralization.

Usage Guidelines

• You can use this infographic in presentations, blog posts, or educational materials
• Please keep the attribution link to ergoblockchain.org
• For custom branding or editable files, contact the Ergo community

Embed this infographic

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    alt="Infographic titled “Ergo vs Solana: TPS vs Sovereignty”. On the left, a decentralized GPU miner network with high decentralization, security and sustainability for Ergo. On the right, a large speedometer showing 65,000+ TPS and data centers for Solana, plus comparison blocks for hardware requirements, launch & funding and focus."
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