Solana (SOL) is showing signs of recovery after a sharp drop. The price of SOL bounced back by 22% after touching $180 on February 3, but it is still 27% below its all-time high of $260 from January 19. While traders in the futures market remain uncertain, Solana’s on-chain data suggests a bullish future.
Mixed Signals from SOL Futures.
Solana’s futures market shows that some traders are skeptical. Futures contracts, which usually trade at a premium, have dropped below the neutral level, signaling weak demand from buyers. However, history tell us that this sentiment is not always accurate.
Solana’s Network Growth Tells a Different Story.
According to other parts of the ecosystem, growth is consistent, and with a recent jump that some speculate may be on the back of the memecoin hype of SOL, top 10 Solana DApps experienced a hike of 21% in users who were actively engaging in those DApps last month. While user activity of competitors like Base, Polygon, and Ethereum experienced decline.
The other important parameter is the total value locked, which measures the amount of money deposited in the DApps on Solana. Over the last 30 days, Solana’s TVL has increased by 5.5%, and others have declined. Solana’s market share rose from 6.7% in October to 9.5% now, which is the second largest blockchain in terms of TVL.
Solana's on-chain data looks strong, and if we get a weekly close at this level, we could see Solana hitting 300 soon. pic.twitter.com/kp89gYMArr
— Gaween (@xGaween) January 24, 2025
Solana’s Strength Beyond Memecoins.
Solana’s growth is not only about meme tokens. There is high engagement on the network in gaming, staking, payments, algorithmic trading, and DeFi. Some of the biggest contributors to Solana’s TVL growth include Meteora (up 162% in 30 days), Binance Staked SOL (up 23%), and Marinade Finance (up 15%).
Solana earned $246 million in network fees last month, which is way above Ethereum’s $133 million. Among the top five most profitable DApps, three are from Solana: Jito, Raydium, and Meteora.
The Road Ahead for SOL.
Despite its strong growth, Solana still faces challenges, such as occasional failed transactions. Like other blockchains, it also deals with maximal extractable value practices, where validators prioritize transactions for profit.
However, with increasing adoption, and high on-chain activity, Solana looks strong for long-term success. If this trend continues, SOL could soon make another attempt to reclaim its all-time high.
 is showing strong on-chain activity despite mixed futures market signals. With rising TVL, growing DApp engagement, and record network fees, could SOL reclaim its all-time high soon? Read more.){kind=link}