Solana’s Q4 User Activity Surge
Solana has experienced a remarkable surge in user activity since October, with a staggering 400% growth in Q4. Notably, its DeFi and NFT sectors have also witnessed substantial growth in recent months.
Daily User Activity Comparison
Daily user activity on Solana (SOL) has seen a significant rise of nearly 400%, overshadowing the mere 3% increase observed on Ethereum (ETH), as reported by on-chain data provider Messari in a recent study.
Token Airdrops Fueling Solana’s Growth
According to Messari, the surge in demand for Solana can be attributed to a series of token airdrops conducted by protocols within the Layer 1 (L1) blockchain network. For instance, the Solana-based oracle network Pyth (PYTH) completed a 250 million PYTH token airdrop valued at approximately $77 million on November 20th.
- On November 20th, Pyth (PYTH) completed a token airdrop of 250 million PYTH tokens.
- On December 7th, Jito airdropped tokens worth $225 million to users on the Solana network.
Jupiter, a prominent decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol on Solana, announced a highly anticipated airdrop of 4 billion JUP tokens scheduled for January.
The meteoric rise in the value of BONK has also contributed to the increased activity on Solana’s network.
Solana’s DeFi and NFT Ecosystem Growth
The dog-themed token BONK has experienced a 544.4% rally in the last month, trading at $0.0000209 at press time. This surge has resulted in a 30% growth in SOL’s value in the same period, making Solana the second-largest chain by DEX volumes.
According to Messari, nearly 60% of Solana’s DEX volume is driven through DEX aggregator Jupiter, surpassing Uniswap V3 on Ethereum. Jupiter’s trades are routed to underlying DEXs, with Orca emerging as the second-largest DEX in the crypto space, following Uniswap V3 on Ethereum.
Additionally, Solana’s non-fungible token (NFT) vertical has exhibited remarkable performance, with a nearly 500% increase in sales volume over the last 90 days, as highlighted in the report.