Solana has been riding a wave of positive news, achieving major decentralized finance (DeFi) volume milestones while demand surges for devices supporting its ecosystem.
Keypoints
The surge underscores Solana’s monumental growth in 2023, which saw it eclipse Ethereum for NFT sales and notch the highest year-to-date gain of top 15 cryptos. Boosting trading volumes was excitement over the sold-out launch of Saga Mobile’s Solana-based crypto phones. Originally slated for a 2023 Q1 rollout, the US inventory was snapped up rapidly amid growing institutional interest.Uniswap: $909M
Jupiter: $992M$JUP going to go crazy.
All your volumes belong to Solana now.
Fuck, I still own a bunch of Ethereum. Why do I keep fudding my own bags?
— Jacob Canfield (@JacobCanfield) December 16, 2023
Others cautioned the trading frenzy could be short-lived, as speculators take profits. SOL prices retraced nearly 6% from weekly highs despite the fanfare over new milestones.
“The surge in trading volume on Jupiter may be simply driven by excitement over the upcoming airdrop possibilities,” said one observer. For farmers focused on acquiring tokens before they list on exchanges, anticipation over airdrops can significantly move markets.
Nevertheless, Solana’s advance in 2023 has been undeniably meteoric. It remains within striking distance of overtaking XRP as the third largest blockchain by market capitalization. If developer activity, institutional interest and trading volumes continue growing, more flippening fireworks could be in store.
