Methodology
The Solana Historical Society preserves what happened in Solana NFTs during 2021, with a short prelude (2017–2020) on its origins. This page explains how records are sourced and reviewed.
Verified, unverified, and disputed
Set by the Lead Historian. Every record carries exactly one of these states, always shown as a text label.
- Verified
Standard: At least one primary source (an on-chain record, or a post, page, or archive snapshot from the actor itself, made at the time of the event; for prelude entries that means 2017–2020) supports the date and the core claim, and the Lead Historian has reviewed it. Secondary articles alone are not enough.
Checked against at least one primary source (on-chain data or a contemporaneous post or page) by the Society's Lead Historian.
- Unverified
Standard: Sourced only secondarily, or the date or claim is not yet pinned down.
This record hasn't been confirmed yet. Treat the details as provisional until a reviewer checks them against a source.
- Disputed
Standard: Credible sources conflict. The record carries a note explaining what is contested.
Sources disagree on this record. Each disputed record carries a note explaining what is contested.
Categories
- Collection
NFT collections, including mints, reveals, and collection-level events.
- Marketplace
Venues for trading NFTs, including launches and changes.
- Infrastructure
Standards, programs, tooling, and wallets that NFTs depend on.
- Outage
Network or service disruptions that affected NFT activity.
- Culture
Communities, memes, gatherings, and notable people.
- Milestone
Notable firsts and turning points.
Glossary: token standards
Terms used on records of early Solana NFTs that predate, or later moved to, the Metaplex standard.
- pre-Metaplex token
- A token minted before the Metaplex NFT standard existed or was applied, so it had no on-chain name, image or edition record.
- upgraded to a Metaplex NFT
- The same token was later given Metaplex metadata (and, where possible, a master edition).
- swapped for a Metaplex NFT
- A new token replaced it, and holders could exchange the old token for the new one.
- moved to the Metaplex standard
- Umbrella phrase used when it is not known whether a collection was upgraded or swapped.
- re-issued, then upgraded to a Metaplex NFT
- Holders of the original pre-Metaplex tokens later received new tokens from the team, and those replacement tokens were then given Metaplex metadata (and, where possible, a master edition).
Sourcing rules
- No invented dates, figures, or quotes. Every record rests on a source: on-chain data, archived pages, original posts, or articles.
- Anything without a source stays Unverified.
- Disputed records explain the conflict in a note shown on the record.
- Dates respect what is known, in UTC. When only the month is known, the record is shown at the month level ("day unknown") rather than with a guessed day.
- Sources show their dates. Archive snapshots show when they were captured; other sources show when they were accessed, where recorded.
- On-chain references link to Solscan (solscan.io, a Solana explorer; mainnet) so anyone can check transactions, accounts, programs, and mints directly.
Review process
Researchers draft records from on-chain data and source captures. Only the Lead Historian can mark a record approved, and only approved records appear on the public site.