Solana Hits New Highs: 77,000 Tokens Minted in a Single Day Amid Rising Market Activity

The Solana blockchain achieved a major milestone with a record-breaking deployment of over 77,000 tokens in just one day.

According to data from Step Finance, this surge was largely driven by the popularity of meme coin projects (the BONK meme is a Solana token, for example) and Solana’s reputation for low-cost, efficient token minting. Solana’s latest record has cemented its position as a hub for token creation, particularly for meme coins. 

This uptick in token deployment coincided with heightened trading volumes and increased on-chain activity. Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) built on Solana reported trading volumes exceeding $7.1 billion on the same day, while the total value locked (TVL) on the network reached $8.8 billion, according to Artemis data.

Daily fee revenue also spiked, hitting $13.9 million and contributing to a three-month cumulative revenue of $6.9 million.

Growing importance was reflected in how Solana fared against Ethereum. In the last 24 hours, Solana had $6.762 billion in trading volume, almost double of Ethereum’s $3.991 billion. In the last week, the trading volume of Solana stood at $44.54 billion, way higher than Ethereum’s $15.43 billion, according to DeFiLlama.

Institutional interest in Solana is on the rise, fueled by recent filings for spot Solana exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States. Bitwise Asset Management became the fourth firm to file for a Solana ETF, joining VanEck, 21Shares, and Canary Capital.

Bitwise filed its S-1 with regulators on Nov. 21 after registering a statutory trust in Delaware. Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley said he is particularly bullish on Solana’s prospects. “It is an incredible emerging asset and story,” he said in an interview with Blockworks. The US presidential election also was a factor in Bitwise filing for a Solana ETF, according to Horsley. “It feels like a constructive time to engage with regulators.”

SOL’s Meteoric Rise in 2024

SOL is the native cryptocurrency of the Solana blockchain and is one of the best-performing in the market currently in 2024, showing the quality of activities on the blockchain. The SOL has jumped an astonishing 160% so far this year, breaching the $262 all-time high and setting consolidation around $260. The growth has positioned Solana to be one of the serious blockchains out there, hence pushing its market capitalization to about $121 billion.

Much of the price momentum can be attributed to the rising adoption of Solana-based projects, particularly in the meme coin and DeFi sectors. The platform’s low transaction costs and scalable infrastructure have attracted developers and investors. Meme coin activity on Solana has especially exploded, with initiatives like Pump.fun gaining significant traction. This ecosystem alone now holds a market value exceeding $8 billion, with a 24-hour trading volume of $4.3 billion, further highlighting the blockchain’s growing dominance in the market.

Institutional interest has also played a key role in boosting SOL’s price. The filing of multiple-spot Solana ETFs in the United States by firms like Bitwise and VanEck has brought the token into the spotlight among traditional financial players. As regulations evolve, Solana is expected to see further integration into institutional portfolios. Additionally, retail platforms like Robinhood have reinstated support for SOL trading, enhancing its accessibility to a broader audience​.

Analysts remain upbeat about its prospect, and its price is likely to touch the $400 level by the end of 2024, given the persistence of on-chain activities, its growing adoption, and the overall favorable macro environment for cryptocurrencies.