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Solana

L1·Solana
61.5 /100
CicadaX ScoreGreen
Why this tierGreen: 60–79

Solana grades Green with a CicadaX Score of 61.5, the mean of its three lens scores. Its lens profile is uneven (8.7-pt spread), pointing to where it is strong versus where it lacks. Data completeness is 85%, so a transparency discount applies.

Solidly sustainable: low-energy, good governance, neutral-to-positive impact.

Top strengths

E1Consensus mechanism92
E2Energy intensity89
E3Carbon intensity81

Where it most lacks

I2Verified impact10
I1Sustainability purpose (additionality)40
G1Decentralization (Nakamoto coefficient)36
Five pillars
EEnergy & Carbon88.2
RResource & E-waste69.0
GGovernance & Transparency56.2
IReal-world Impact25.0
SSocial78.0
Three lensesdiscount ×0.97
AEnergy-dominant
66.8strongest
BBalanced ESG
59.6
CImpact-forward
58.1weakest

A 8.7-point spread between lenses shows an uneven profile — the diagnostic value of scoring under all three.

Per-indicator breakdownStandard v1.0 · config-2026-05-25
IndicatorValueNorm.ConfidenceSource
E1Consensus mechanismpoh92highCicadaX consensus map — docs.solana.com (Proof of History); Solana Foundation energy report (Proof-of-History + Proof-of-Stake)
E2Energy intensity0.00489highCambridge CBECI/CBNSI (CBNSI/CCRI-style — validator node count x hardware draw x grid intensity (PoH+PoS); as of 2026-05-01)
E3Carbon intensity881highCambridge CBECI/CBNSI (grid-adjusted; as of 2026-05-01)
R1Hardware lifecycle / e-waste0.0563mediumCicadaX resource model (consensus=poh) — higher-spec but commodity validators (PoH+PoS)
R2Embodied footprintgood78mediumCicadaX resource model (consensus=poh) — embodied footprint by hardware class
G1Decentralization (Nakamoto coefficient)636mediumCicadaX decentralization map (public Nakamoto-coefficient trackers) (Nakamoto coefficient (min entities for >33% control), public trackers — calibration snapshot; as of 2026-05-01)
G2Disclosure qualityself_reportedstrong95lowSolana Foundation energy report + public incident history — publishes energy + network data (self-reported)
G3Security / audits / reliabilitylow30mediumSolana Foundation energy report + public incident history — documented history of network outages (third-party reported)
G4Regulatory & treasury transparencyself_reportedpartial55lowSolana Foundation energy report + public incident history — foundation-led governance
I1Sustainability purpose (additionality)neutral40mediumSolana Foundation energy report + public incident history — general-purpose L1
I2Verified impactnone10mediumSolana Foundation energy report + public incident history — no core green impact
S1Community / labor / accessibilityself_reportedgood78lowSolana Foundation energy report + public incident history — large developer community

Sources used: cbeci, consensus-map, resource-map, decentralization-map, disclosures.