Solana Virtual Machine (SVM) is an execution environment on the Solana blockchain network designed to run smart contracts and process transactions on the network. SVM enables parallel processing of multiple transactions to improve the speed and efficiency of the Solana blockchain. SVMs are a core part of the Solana architecture that enables this blockchain to achieve very high transaction throughput. Unlike the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) which processes transactions sequentially, SVM utilizes a parallel processing model called Sealevel, which enables concurrent execution of transactions without conflicts.

SVM utilizes code written primarily in the Rust programming language and uses the eBPF (Extended Berkeley Packet Filter) bytecode format, which ensures state changes that conform to predefined rules. Sealevel allows SVM to detect transactions that do not share the same data or account, so they can be executed in parallel. This approach allows Solana to achieve thousands of transactions per second with low transaction costs. These advantages of SVM have attracted many projects to build on top of the Solana blockchain, even integrating SVM as a layer-2 solution on other blockchains such as Ethereum.