Solana’s native cryptocurrency, SOL, is on the brink of reaching $100, propelled by the sustained excitement surrounding the blockchain’s rapid transaction speed, cost-effectiveness, and the surge of meme coin launches entering its third week.
Recent metrics indicate that Solana has become a dominant choice among on-chain traders, surpassing Ethereum’s trading volumes and network fees on a seven-day rolling basis. The total value locked in Solana applications has surged from $400 million in November to an impressive $1.3 billion, reaching levels last observed in July 2022.
Despite facing significant selling pressure from the bankruptcy estate of the crypto exchange FTX, which held substantial amounts of SOL, the token has showcased remarkable resilience, trading around $94 during the European morning.
The resurgence of attention to dog-themed meme coins, notably bonk (BONK), with a staggering 1,000% surge in late November, sparked a wave of similar meme coins like dogwifhat (WIF), providing early retail buyers with astonishing gains exceeding 10,000% within a short period. WIF has continued to gain momentum, adding another 35% to its market capitalization in the past 24 hours.
The meme coin phenomenon on Solana has led to the issuance of thousands of such coins by opportunistic developers, many starting with a minimal market capitalization and quickly reaching a few million.
Analysts foresee the outperformance of SOL to persist in the coming weeks, driven by potential interest from retail investors. The recovery of Solana has been more steady compared to its major competitors, and the growing interest within the community is expected to keep its performance above the market in the coming months.
Google searches for Solana have surged by 250% in the last two months, coinciding with the asset’s explosive growth and the rising popularity of related meme coins. Additionally, the Solana blockchain’s robust growth is underscored by the introduction of new protocols and recent airdrops, including BONK, ACS, and JTO, distributed to Solana users in the past weeks.
