Original author: Marcel Pechman

原文标题：Solana DApps volume increased by 46% in a week — Is $180 SOL the next stop? 

Original source: Cointelegraph

Compiled by: Koala, Mars Finance

Increased Solana network activity and upcoming projects could push up the price of SOL.

Solana’s native token SOL is currently priced at $148.03. After peaking at $161.80 on September 29, the highest level in seven weeks, it has fallen 9% in two days. This adjustment reflects the broader altcoin market capitalization (excluding stablecoins), which reached about $800 billion at the end of September before falling to $739 billion on October 1.

SOL price trending up thanks to strong TVL and low fees

Despite the downward trend, Solana network usage has grown significantly over the past week, prompting traders to question whether SOL has the potential to surpass its competitors.

Solana/USD (blue, left) versus altcoin market cap (green). Source: TradingView

It is worth noting that despite the recent correction, SOL's price has risen by 10.4% in the past 30 days, indicating that the overall market sentiment remains positive. In addition, SOL continues to rank as the fourth largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and third by total locked value (TVL), which measures the amount of deposits in the network's smart contracts.

Solana’s network is known for its low latency and extremely low transaction fees, especially when compared to major competitors like Ethereum and BNB Chain.

BNB price fell by $557.91. According to GasFeesNow, the average transaction cost on Solana is only $0.02, while the average transaction cost of Ether is close to $2.50 and the average transaction cost of BNB Chain is about $0.08. In this regard, Solana’s strategy of enhancing the robustness of the network through validators has proven to be effective.

However, low fees alone do not guarantee increased inflows or network activity. Nonetheless, they provide a competitive advantage for users who are unwilling to rely on layer 2 scaling solutions, which may add complexity and additional costs. For example, the Pump.fun memecoin launchpad has been a huge success among traders, reaching 65,000 daily active addresses in late July.

SOL's potential comes from games and mobile applications

Experienced asset managers such as VanEck believe that Solana’s price could rise by 120% from current levels due to its scalability, which is critical for stablecoin and remittance adoption. In a report published on September 25, VanEck cited the potential for institutional adoption and value extraction from Ethereum’s Layer 2 solutions as the main drivers of investors’ improved sentiment towards Solana.

Additionally, the September 24 release of Gameshift, a game development API that leverages Google Cloud’s architecture and is powered by Solana Labs, is seen as a potential catalyst for increased demand on the network. Gameshift aims to provide traditional game developers with a comprehensive set of Web3 services, including the integration of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and digital assets.

Additionally, investors have high hopes for the new Solana-powered smartphone, the Seeker, which will cost less than $499. In addition to the much-anticipated token airdrop for these users, the device will also feature an upgraded decentralized application (DApps) store to better capture emerging use cases, according to Solana Labs.

Given this positive outlook, investors believe that the recent growth in Solana network activity will eventually translate into higher demand for SOL. On September 30, the network’s total locked value (TVL) increased to 36.1 million SOL, roughly the same as the previous two weeks, but just 3% below its two-year high. In U.S. dollar terms, the $5.5 billion in deposits surpassed BNB Chain’s $4.6 billion TVL, according to DefiLlama.

However, the most significant highlight of Solana’s activity was DApp volume, which grew 46% compared to the previous seven days, according to DappRadar. In contrast, Ethereum DApps grew 12% over the same period, while BNB Chain’s numbers remained flat. Notably, Ethereum’s growth was largely dependent on Balancer, as its leading DApp Uniswap saw a 6% drop in volume over the seven-day period.

Meanwhile, Solana is up across the board, with Marinade Finance up 66%, Pump.fun up 93%, and Solend up 143% in the past seven days. Likewise, the number of active addresses participating in smart contracts has increased by 13% over the past week, helped by gains on the Jupiter exchange, which has accumulated more than 2.77 million unique addresses.

Based on the current news flow and network activity, the SOL price appears poised to outperform the altcoin market, potentially paving the way for a bull run to prices of $180 or higher.