The parent token of the Solana blockchain, SOL, reached new heights by breaking the $100 barrier this Sunday (24), reaching a price level not seen since the collapse of TerraLuna a year and a half ago.
At the time of writing, SOL is trading at around $109 per coin, marking an astronomical increase of more than tenfold this year alone, with a jump of over 70% in December alone, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
The surprise surge puts an end to weeks of intense trading, temporarily placing the Solana blockchain on the network’s activity list.
The Solana-based decentralized exchanges are now close to reaching trading volumes comparable to Uniswap, a notable achievement as noted by DefiLlama.
Much of this momentum is due to the intense speculation in the market. Among the most traded assets on Solana, dog-themed meme coins stand out. Furthermore, airdrops are attracting an increasing number of merchants to try out Solana-based infrastructures.
Known for supporting fast, low-cost transactions, Solana is positioning itself as a strong competitor to Ethereum while remaining a popular venue for cryptocurrency trading.
This Christmas Eve, Solana prices reached $120, an unprecedented feat since April 2022. According to the CMC, the asset’s price has risen 19% in the last 24 hours. As a result, the capitalization of the project reached $48.5 billion, with a trading volume of $5.7 billion.
In this panorama, all digital assets in the top 10 by capitalization are in the “green zone”, with significant growth also observed in other cryptocurrencies such as Avalanche and BNB.
Solana also managed to overtake XRP in terms of market capitalization, now positioning itself in fifth place. In a stunning turnaround, the asset’s market value surpassed BNB, securing the fourth position.
An increase of 800% in the year
The rise comes in the wake of comments from former BitMEX boss Arthur Hayes, who recently sold his Solanas and transferred the proceeds to Ethereum, predicting a rise in the latter’s price.
When analyzing annual performance, Solana showed an impressive increase in value of over 800%. However, this growth has also brought challenges for those betting on cryptocurrency.
Coinglass data showed that short-term liquidations amounted to approximately $14.3 million on December 23, which is the largest short-term liquidation in more than three months.
The funding rate has also become more positive, indicating that more traders are betting on a continuation of the Solana price uptrend.
Source: Live Coins
Barry Siefert is an accomplished journalist and author at The Nation View. He is known for his expertise in the field of cryptocurrency, and has written extensively on the topic. With a background in finance and economics, Barry has a deep understanding of the underlying technology and market forces that drive the crypto industry.
