Solana, an open-source project that leverages the permission less nature of the blockchain to offer decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions, has recorded strong performance over the past few weeks. As a result, the network’s native coin SOL has been on a bullish rally that has seen it continue surging even as leading cryptocurrency correct downwards. This rally also saw the coin join the top-10 list of the largest cryptos by capitalization.
At the time of writing, SOL is changing hands at $187.78 after gaining 27.67% in 24 hours. In comparison, other gainers in the top-10 have gains ranging between 0.04% to 2.56%. The coin’s current price also denotes a 58.29% rise over the past seven days. According to data from CoinMarketCap, this astronomical growth saw SOL set a new all-time high (ATH) at $194.82 earlier today.
While SOL’s current price symbolizes a slight downward correction from its ATH, the coin is set to continue trading higher to set new highs. Data from Trading View shows that the coin is experiencing a strong buying force in the 1-day, 1-week, and 1-month charts. In the 1-day chart, the Oscillators are neutral, but the Moving Averages point to more gains.
SOL has also surpassed Dogecoin (DOGE) to become the seventh-largest crypto by capitalization. The coin’s market cap has grown from $34,749,647,517 on August 31 to $56,402,787,859 at the moment. In comparison, DOGE has a market cap of $39,850,480,871. If SOL maintains its bullish momentum, it is set to flip Ripple (XRP), which has a market cap of $63,864,416,492, to occupy sixth place.
Reasons behind SOL’s gains
While it may seem as if the crypto community is pumping SOL for speculation purposes, developments in the Solana Network are the primary driving force behind the coin’s performance.
For instance, Solana dipped its toes in the booming non-fungible token (NFT) space with the launch of an NFT project dubbed Degenerate Apes Academy. At launch, Solana released a collection of 10,000 costumed apes, which sold out in less than 10 minutes. These sales were completed in SOL, a factor that pushed the coin’s price higher.
Solana also houses over 400 projects, including several DeFi platforms. The network’s surge in DeFi activities has seen the total value locked (TVL) surge almost fivefold over the past six weeks. At the time of writing, Solana’s TVL is $5.98 billion, according to data from DeFi Lama.
Audius, a fully decentralized consumer blockchain app that allows users to connect with fans and share exclusive monetized content also runs on Solana. The project joined hands with TikTok in the past month to become its official streaming partner. This use case of the Solana network also explains SOL’s gains.
According to Santiment, an on-chain crypto data provider, Solana’s dominance in crypto discussions continues soaring as the coin sets new ATHs. This development is helping SOL become more popular among crypto enthusiasts. As a result, both newbies and seasoned investors are rushing to add the coin to their portfolios, thus pushing the coin’s price higher.
