Solana has reached a major milestone, surpassing 408 billion total transactions and nearly $1 trillion in trading volume as it marks its fifth anniversary. The blockchain network, known for its high-speed and low-cost transactions, highlighted its achievements in a post on its official X account.
“Happy 5th birthday Solana fam! 408+ billion transactions. 1,300+ validators. $987+ billion volume. Thank you to all the relentless founders, devs, and nCMOs around the globe who have made Solana what it is today — 5 years in, we’re just getting started,”
The post stated.
Founded in 2017 by Anatoly Yakovenko, Solana was designed to solve blockchain scalability issues by combining proof-of-stake with proof-of-history, allowing for faster transaction processing. Since the mainnet launch in March 2020, the network has grown to include over 1,300 validators and more than 254 million generated blocks.
The blockchain has also cemented its position in decentralized finance (DeFi), with $7.066 billion in total value locked (TVL) across its protocols, according to DeFiLlama data.
Market Performance and Trading Volume
Solana’s market cap currently stands at $65.763 billion, significantly down from its all-time peak of $127.5 billion. The SOL token, ranked sixth by market capitalization, is priced at $129. It has also been included in several exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications, reflecting its growing acceptance among institutional investors.
The blockchain’s decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volume in the past 24 hours reached $1.077 billion, with a seven-day volume of $10.91 billion. Despite a 28.88% weekly decline, Solana has led DEX trading volumes for five consecutive months, surpassing BNB Chain’s $84.25 billion DEX volume in February. Its dominance in the DeFi ecosystem is reinforced by a stablecoin market cap of $11.936 billion and capital inflows of $11.19 million in the past 24 hours.
Solana has emerged as the most popular blockchain for new developers, overtaking Ethereum in 2024. According to Electric Capital’s 2024 developer report, the network attracted 7,625 new developers in the previous year, accounting for 19.5% of all new entrants in the blockchain space. Solana’s lower transaction fees and high throughput continue to attract developers, as highlighted by Tagus Capital earlier this month.
App revenue on Solana remains strong, generating $280.32 million as of February, outperforming BSC at $16.51 million and Ethereum at $59.02 million. Meanwhile, protocol fee revenue has declined sharply on Pump.fun, a major Solana-based meme coin platform, which saw a drop of over 90% from its $15.38 million peak on Jan. 25. Token launches on Pump.fun also fell from 70,000 on Jan. 23 to around 20,000 by March 1, according to Dune Analytics.
Institutional interest in Solana is rising, with CME Group planning to introduce Solana futures contracts, pending regulatory approval. These contracts aim to help investors hedge against price volatility and reflect the blockchain’s increasing recognition as a mainstream asset.
