The FTX collapse in 2022 led many to believe it was the end for Solana (SOL), as its price plummeted to $8. However, by December 25, 2023, SOL had made an impressive comeback, surging to $122 and becoming one of the year’s top-performing altcoins.
Recent data from DeFiLlama revealed that Solana has risen from the ashes to become the second most traded cryptocurrency on decentralized exchanges (DEXs), just behind Ethereum (ETH). Over the past week, Solana’s DEX trading volume increased by over 25%, reaching a total of $5.6 billion, moving up from fourth to second place in just 12 days.
Ethereum maintained its lead with a weekly trading volume of $8.89 billion, making it the most traded DEX asset. Solana’s 24-hour DEX trading volume was close to Ethereum’s at $895.9 million, compared to ETH’s $1.07 billion, and SOL’s price saw a 7.73% gain in the last 24 hours, with an over 1000% increase since the start of the year.
As SOL’s price increases, so does participation in the Solana network. Paxos, a stablecoin issuer, announced its expansion to the Solana network, planning to launch its Pax Dollar (USDP) through the Solana blockchain starting January 17, 2024.
Raj Gokal, co-founder of Solana, commented on Paxos’s decision to issue its stablecoin on the Solana blockchain, highlighting the network’s high performance and low transaction fees as an enabler of regulated financial products for industry leaders.
Another development for Solana is in the mobile technology sector. The Web3 smartphone Saga, which started selling in April and quickly sold out, garnered significant interest. In a surprising move, Saga came with a reward of the rapidly rising meme coin Bonk (BONK) on the Solana network.