Solana (SOL) shattered its all-time high (ATH) by soaring past $263 for the first time on Thursday. This marks a stunning comeback after years of volatility and setbacks. The new milestone follows an 11% daily and a 55% monthly surge, pumping SOL toward the road to glory.
The global crypto market printed green indexes all around as Bitcoin (BTC) led the way. The cumulative digital assets market cap jumped by over 3% to stand at $3.3 trillion. However, Bitcoin smashed its new all-time high by breaching the $99,000 mark. it now stands just shy of the historical $100K milestone.
Solana’s 158% surge, from $8 to $263
Solana turned up as one of the biggest gainers among the top 100 cryptos as investors turned extremely bullish. SOL’s last record was set in 2021 amid massive hype as Ethereum’s “faster, cheaper rival.” That too buzz faded during a crypto bear market and network stability issues and eventually caused SOL to go dead straight at $8 in December 2022.
The market shacking collapse of FTX which was once closely tied to Solana also dealt a massive blow. The blockchain managed to rebound as developers improved the network’s stability and Solana Labs expanded into mobile hardware and apps.
SOL’s ongoing rally coincides with political shifts, such as crypto-friendly Donald Trump’s election win and SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s upcoming resignation in January 2025. These events have fueled bullish sentiments in the market.
Solana price is up by 158% on a year-to-date basis. SOL is trading at an average price of $262, with a market cap of $124.3 billion. Its 24-hour trading volume spiked by 58% to stand at $11.03 billion.
DeFi, NFTs, and meme coins pushing Solana
Solana is becoming a blockchain to be at for developers with lightning-fast transaction speeds and low costs. Its ecosystem has expanded rapidly, driven by decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms and NFT projects. Raydium and Jito are breaking records with massive fee revenues.
Solana has reportedly become the second-largest blockchain for smart contract creation. But it’s not just about DeFi as meme coins are making waves too. Tokens like PNUT, WIF, and BONK have gained massive traction. Data shows that the Solana Ecosystem is now $348 billion large.
Platforms like Pump.fun are making it easy to create and launch meme tokens which pushes SOL to touch new heights. The meme coin economy is booming, users are creating a unique blend of creativity and adoption. These “joke” coins are transforming into community-driven assets with real value. Recent data shows a 111% surge in the total meme coin market cap since the US election.
The total market cap of meme coins stood at $117.4 billion with a trading volume of $28.18 billion.
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