Solana has re-emerged as a headline grabber, surging from $21 in mid-October to nearly $45 last week, making it the most traded altcoin on US exchanges this year. This impressive performance followed a brief drop below $10 during the FTX exchange’s collapse.
Recent data from Kaiko research underlines SOL’s remarkable ascent, with its price soaring by almost 115% since mid-October.
Meanwhile, Coinbase, the leading exchange, played a key role in SOL’s success by buying 2.2 million tokens on October 18. Since then, SOL has seen a remarkable 35% surge.
On the other hand, South Korea’s prominent exchange, Upbit, decided to sell nearly 4 million SOL tokens.
What’s Behind Solana’s Rise?
Solana’s surge can be attributed to a notable uptick in network activity, especially concerning liquid-staking token protocols like Jito, the second liquid-staking protocol on Solana. Data reveals that Jito has attracted up to $12 million in funding and boasts a total value locked (TVL) of approximately $224 million.
As an alternative Layer 1 (alt L1) blockchain, Solana is often compared to Ethereum (ETH) and has been doing better than its counterpart in recent months.
The ratio of SOL to ETH went up from 0.011 in September to about 0.025, surpassing levels from before the FTX crisis.
Exchanges Are Byying Sol In Huge Numbers
Leading the charge in this buying spree is Coinbase, which has acquired a net of 2.2 million tokens since the rally began on October 16.
Binance, another major player, initially lagged but quickly caught up, accumulating a cumulative volume delta (CVD) of 1.9 million tokens since that date.
Solana Outshining Other Altcoins
In the broader context, SOL has outperformed other popular altcoins such as Dogecoin (DOGE), Litecoin (LTC), Polygon (MATIC), and Ripple (XRP) in trading volumes across US-based exchanges, solidifying its position as the favored alternative digital asset among US traders in 2023.
Within a month, SOL has experienced a remarkable 75% increase in value, proving that it is a force to be reckoned with in the crypto world.