The Year in Solana: A Return Story

In history going back centuries, Solana In the year Emerging from the depths of crypto winter in 2022, it rose to prominence this year, making it one of the most used blockchains for crypto enthusiasts and retail startups alike.

“Glass chewing is in our DNA, and we'll get through it together.” Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko Posted Twitter (aka X) in summer 2022.

Fast forward two years, with risk appetite and meme coin mania ramping up, Solana sees user growth in 2024.

Blockchain is poised to shake up old narratives of frequent disruption and technical inferiority, with technological breakthroughs such as software client FireDancer just around the corner.

With the value of its native token jumping nearly 200% over the past year, Solana now ranks as the fifth largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and improved regulatory transparency. ETF consideration Let Solana fans hope for more in the near future.

Before that, let's revisit Solana's year in 2024.

Solana reestablishes leg, breaks all-time high.

In the year After trading at just $8 in late 2022 following FTX's collapse, Solana has made an extraordinary comeback this year, gaining more than 275%. All time high.

Dismissed by some as the risk of a crypto winter, Solana's resurgence shows the resilience of the ecosystem, which co-founded rival Layer-1. EthereumVitalik Buterin, I'm glad once.

Data collected by Syncracy last year shows that Solana has surpassed EthereumIt is the second largest crypto asset, in key metrics such as real economic value, active addresses and decentralized exchange volume, although its market cap is a fraction of Ethereum.

Although the price has retreated 17 percent from its all-time high of $263 on November 23, the Solana ETF is on the rise and could represent the network's native token. More adoption In traditional financial methods.

Meme coin supercycle?

Meme coinsTokens known for their association with internet memes and pop culture events have seen an unprecedented rise in Solana in 2024, a wave of cultural relevance and widespread speculation.

While meme coins are not a new phenomenon, popular tokens like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) are now in the top 15 by market capitalization and the likes of the previous cycle. The proliferation of new tokens on Solana has led to what some have called a “meme coin supercycle.”

The trigger of the cycle? Forums like Pump. FunA meme coin startup that democratizes token creation, allowing any user to create a new token with just a few clicks.

This made access more accessible 4 million symbols Since the platform launched in January 2024.

While most are worthless now, some have led traders to significant heights. Profit And they are known to trade in the top 100 coins by market capitalization.

Solana Saga

Solana's first smartphone, the Solana Saga, was initially launched to spark enthusiasm among the diehard Solana community members, but in At the end of 2023, it experienced a resurgence.

A last-minute frenzy erupted as users clamored to secure airdrops connected to the phone's soul, ultimately pushing Saga to sell out.

Building on that momentum, Solana introduced a second edition, the seekerIn 2024, the Finder will offer phone buyers a cheaper alternative to the Saga, but with improved hardware.

Set for release in Q1 2025, the Finder has already recorded over 140,000 pre-orders and over $65 million worth of devices.

Solana's real-world connections extend beyond smartphones, to handheld gaming devices and decentralized infrastructure (DePIN) projects.

Those projects are trying to recreate real-world infrastructure using decentralized networks and blockchain technology. Revolutionary change According to some fans.

For example, Helium's decentralized mobile network and teleport ride-sharing platform Solanan's technology has seen significant growth in 2024. Helium's mobile token (MOBILE) has grown by more than 300% year-on-year, emphasizing that. The speed in the field.

Technical improvements are coming.

Solana's technical backbone is, at times, as Blockchain has combated problems with downtime. and termination in the past. However, infrastructure improvements are coming quickly, especially with the release of Solana Firedancer.

Firedancer, led by crypto investment firm and infrastructure developer Leap Crypto, was the highlight of Solana's recent Breakpoint conference in Singapore.

Innovative Validator is designed to optimize client hardware utilization and eliminate software inefficiencies, setting the standard for improving Solana's network performance.

An early episode of Firedancer—Freakdancer—went live on Solana's main network in September. So far, he said, there have been no outages during that time. Part time page.

Institutions think that Solana has grown

Active crypto participants have flocked to Solana this year, but international institutions have also been lurking. Van Eyck. One year after the visa Detailed analysis Due to Solana's scalability, low cost structure and suitability for payments, other financial giants have joined the Solana ecosystem.

PayPal will activate the PYUSD stablecoin on Solana in early 2024, demonstrating the potential of blockchain as the backbone for digital payments and emphasizing the launch of PYUSD on Solana. Significant benefits for business use cases.“

Major financial players aim to bring blockchain-native tokens such as Bitcoin and Ethereum into the same mainstream investment channels as they continue to provide wider access to major financial participants.

Edited by Sebastian Sinclair