01LAMPORT / NOTE
Smallest native unit
A lamport is the indivisible base unit used to represent SOL balances on-chain.
The Satoshi of Solana
LAMPORT
One SOL. One billion Lamports.
The smallest native unit behind every SOL.
Decode the unitFrom one native lamport to the LAMPORT idea
Protocol ratio
NATIVE ASSET
1 SOL
BASE UNITS
1,000,000,000
LAMPORTS
1 Lamport=0.000000001 SOL
Unit lab / 001
Convert without approximation.
SOL is the human-readable denomination. Lamports are the exact integer units the network accounts for.
Live unit converterBASE 10⁹
SOL
LAMPORTS
Exact base-unit conversion · whole lamport output
Primary sources
Verify the ledger.
OFFICIAL REFERENCES / EXTERNAL
The namesake
Leslie
Lamport
Distributed computing pioneer. Microsoft Research emeritus. Recipient of the 2013 ACM A.M. Turing Award for foundational contributions to distributed and concurrent systems.
Microsoft Research profile01
ORDERING / TIME
DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS
→
“A distributed system is one in which the failure of a computer you didn't even know existed can render your own computer unusable.”
Swap / 003
Swap
Temporary SOL to Circle USDC swap. LAMPORT has not launched; this widget does not buy LAMPORT. Review the quote and transaction in your own wallet before signing.
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USDC output mint: EPjFWdd5AufqSSqeM2qN1xzybapC8G4wEGGkZwyTDt1v
LAMPORT / FILM
The smallest unit. The bigger picture.
Sound starts muted for autoplay.
Field notes / 10 entries
Anatomy of a lamport.
02LAMPORT / NOTE
Why the name
It honors Leslie Lamport, whose work shaped the foundations of reliable distributed systems.
03LAMPORT / NOTE
Integer by design
Programs use LAMPORTS_PER_SOL = 1_000_000_000. Account balances are stored as integers—not floating-point SOL.
04LAMPORT / NOTE
Native transfers
A native SOL transfer is ultimately an update to the lamport balances of the participating accounts.
05LAMPORT / NOTE
Fees, precisely
Transaction fees are denominated and charged in lamports. Their amount can vary, so robust software should not hardcode a fixed fee.
06LAMPORT / NOTE
Bitcoin / Solana
Satoshi relates to bitcoin as lamport relates to SOL. “Satoshi of Solana” is a branding analogy, not an official designation.
07LAMPORT / NOTE
Accounts & storage
Accounts may need a minimum lamport balance for storage. When an eligible account closes, its recoverable balance can return to a destination account.
0810⁻¹⁵ SOL
Below a lamport
Priority fee pricing can use micro-lamports. 1 lamport = 1,000,000 micro-lamports; 1 micro-lamport = 10⁻¹⁵ SOL.
09LAMPORT / NOTE
Ownership rules
Account ownership rules constrain which programs may deduct lamports, preserving Solana’s account security model.
10LAMPORT / NOTE
Native WSOL
Native wrapped SOL accounts hold SOL as lamports. SyncNative updates the token amount, while a reserve nuance remains for account storage.
Developer proof
The constant is the contract.
Use the SDK constant and integer arithmetic. It makes the denomination explicit and keeps base-unit handling legible in code.
10⁹
LAMPORTS / SOL
u64
BALANCE MODEL
conversion.ts
import { LAMPORTS_PER_SOL } from '@solana/web3.js';
const sol = 1;
const lamports = sol * LAMPORTS_PER_SOL;
// 1_000_000_000INTEGER SAFEBASE UNITCHAIN NATIVE
Protocol anatomy
Value moves. The ledger resolves.
At the native layer, balances, transfer amounts, and fees share one exact language: lamports.