• Solana beat Ethereum in the memecoin sector.
• Overall activity on the Solana network surged over the last quarter.

Solana [SOL] was one of the few cryptocurrency networks that witnessed tremendous growth over the last year. One of the reasons for the surge in Solana’s growth was the emergence of memecoins.

A recent report by CoinMarketCap highlights a significant trend in the cryptocurrency market for the first half of 2024.

Solana-based memecoins have experienced exceptional growth, outperforming their Ethereum counterparts by an average of nearly 800% year-to-date (YTD).

This surge extends beyond memecoins, as the Solana ecosystem itself has garnered increased investor attention compared to Ethereum during this period.

While this heightened interest may not directly translate to a corresponding increase in network activity, it signifies a noteworthy shift in investor sentiment.

Since October 2023, both the native token SOL and the broader ecosystem, including its memecoin projects, have witnessed a remarkable uptick in both price performance and public interest.

This momentum has propelled Solana into the forefront of the cryptocurrency landscape, solidifying its position as a competitor of increasing prominence.

Although Ethereum currently maintains its dominant position, Solana’s impressive growth cannot be overlooked and suggests a potential future challenge to the established leader.

Activity on Solana soared in Q4

Solana’s network activity experienced a significant surge in the second quarter of 2024. Transaction fees and revenue grew exponentially, exceeding $26 million, a remarkable 42x increase year-over-year.

This growth reflects a booming ecosystem, further evidenced by the total SOL trading volume reaching a staggering $292 billion, nearly seven times higher than the same period in 2023.

Delving deeper into the network metrics, Q2 2024 saw over 15.3 billion transactions completed, encompassing both voting and non-voting activities. This represents a substantial increase in overall network utilization.

Additionally, the total value locked (TVL) within SOL’s DeFi protocols skyrocketed to $3.4 billion, reflecting a tenfold year-over-year growth. This surge indicates the growing popularity of Solana for decentralized finance applications.

The NFT sector on Solana also witnessed explosive expansion. Over 98 million new NFTs were minted in Q2 2024, a staggering 54x increase compared to the previous year.

Read Solana’s [SOL] Price Prediction 2024-25

This suggests a thriving and dynamic NFT ecosystem within the network.

Notably, USDC, reached a market cap of $2.15 billion on Solana, constituting approximately 70% of the total stablecoin market cap on the platform.