- Solana (SOL) has surged by 15% in the past day, a new 2024 record and the highest it has traded since April 2022, with meme coins in its ecosystem leading the recent market rally.
- Dogwifhat (WIF) has gained 4% as its trading volume skyrocketed, but it was Bonk that was the biggest mover at 28% in daily gains, the second-highest in the top 100 coins.
As the entire crypto market embarks on a renewed price rally, Solana is surging and has set a new local high, breaking past $130 to hit levels last seen nearly two years ago.
SOL is changing hands at $129.32 at press time, rising 16.10% in the past day. In the top 20 coins, only Dogecoin and Toncoin saw higher gains in that period.
SOL managed to break past $120 today, a level that has previously proven to be formidable resistance. In its rally towards the end of last year, SOL tested this level but was rejected, sending its price on a downward spiral that bottomed out at $84. Another attempt to test the resistance in mid-February was rejected too, and while it sent the price on a spiral, SOL managed to set a higher low at $101.
Another key factor in Solana’s rise has been a surge in investor interest in recent days. In the past day, the trading volume surged past $7.5 billion, rising by 160% in just 24 hours. This was the sixth-highest trading volume for any crypto, and three of the five projects above Solana are stablecoins—USDT, FDUSD, and USDC respectively. Less than a week ago, SOL was struggling to hit $1 billion in daily trading volume.
Memecoins Spur Solana (SOL)’s Rise
SOL’s rise has also been a reflection of its thriving ecosystem. Solana has long been criticized for lacking the depth of projects that its rivals like Ethereum boast of. And while it can’t match up with Ethereum (but then again, who can?), Solana’s ecosystem has been thriving in recent months, and the gains are seeping through to SOL.
BONK, the meme coin that set the world ablaze last year, has been leading the gains. In the past 24 hours, BONK gained 34% to bring its total gains in the past week to over 84%. BONK was the highest gainer in the top 100 coins ahead of rival Dogecoin and fourth-placed Shiba Inu as the meme coins take the reins in the crypto market.
Dogwifhat (WIF) is also showing impressive growth. In the past week, the meme coin has gained 139%, one of the highest weekly rises in the entire market. In the meme coin sector, only PEPE at 144% recorded higher gains.
Meme coins have become a critical part of Solana. Last year, Bonk singlehandedly reignited interest in Solana’s Saga Web3 smartphones. As this report by Crypto News Flash in December details, Solana Labs was struggling to sell its phones until users realized they could earn BONK airdrops by purchasing the phones. After that, they were flying off the shelf, with CNF reporting that the price of a Saga smartphone had shot up to $5,000 on eBay.
