Solana
(SOL)
generated
tremendous
hype
in
2021,
with
fans
touting
its
ability
to
solve
the
Ethereum
(ETH)
blockchain’s
core
problem.
Solana,
it
was
promised,
would
be
a
cheaper
and
faster
place
to
handle
transactions,
a
better
springboard
for
decentralized
finance,
or
DeFi,
and
other
smart
contract-powered
activities.
Then
came
2022
and
all
that
pain.
Things
looked
bleak
for
Solana
(and,
let’s
be
honest,
most
of
crypto).
It
didn’t
help
that
Sam
Bankman-Fried
was
closely
linked
to
Solana
and
its
SOL
token,
which
sank
below
$10.
SOL
was
back
in
the
$20s
in
October
as
SBF
was
on
trial.
Then,
all
of
a
sudden,
Solana
and
SOL
turned
into
just
about
the
hottest
things
going.
SOL
is
above
$100
now
for
the
first
time
since
early
2022
and,
at
$47
billion,
it’s
the
fifth-biggest
crypto
–
and
it
was
briefly
fourth-biggest
earlier
this
week.
|
Name |
Market |
|---|---|
|
Bitcoin |
$854 |
|
Ethereum |
$288 |
|
Tether |
$92 |
|
BNB |
$49 |
|
Solana |
$47 |
|
XRP |
$35 |
My
colleague
Danny
Nelson
cogently
summed
up
recent
events
this
weekend
when
SOL
exceeded
$100:
Saturday’s
price
action
capped
weeks
of
frenzied
trading
that
have
–
at
least
temporarily
–
vaulted
the
Solana
blockchain
up
the
leaderboard
for
on-chain
activity.
Solana-based
decentralized
exchanges
are
nearing
Uniswap’s
multibillion-dollar
trading
volumes
for
the
first
time,
according
to
DefiLlama.
Much
of
that
energy
is
being
driven
by
rampant
speculation.
Some
of
the
most
popular
crypto
assets
being
traded
on
Solana
right
now
are
dog-themed
meme
coins.
But
airdrops,
too,
are
prompting
droves
of
traders
to
test
out
Solana-based
lenders,
bridges
and
other
infrastructure.
Ethereum
remains
the
leader
among
layer-1
blockchains
that
can
run
smart
contracts,
aka
the
bedrock
of
DeFi.
Ethereum
has
$29
billion
of
total
value
locked,
a
measure
of
money
stashed
in
a
particular
blockchain’s
ecosystem,
far
exceeding
Solana’s
$1.5
billion,
according
to
DefiLlama
data.
But
recent
events
show
Solana
may
be
a
serious
competitor
now.
Here’s
what
else
is
on
my
mind
in
this
holiday-shortened
week:
-
A
LONG
DECADE:
The
failure
amid
a
hack
of
Mt.
Gox
a
decade
ago
was
a
milestone
for
the
industry,
an
early
sign
crypto
would
need
better
infrastructure
to
thrive
or,
at
least,
survive.
Some
850,000
bitcoins
were
stolen
in
that
incident,
a
hoard
now
worth
about
$36
billion.
All
these
years
later,
it
appears
former
customers
are
starting
to
get
repaid.
From
CoinDesk’s
coverage:
“The
repayment
could
have
some
impact
on
bitcoin
prices,
due
to
the
sheer
volume
of
the
tokens
being
released,
but
would
not
destablize
the
market,
UBS
had
said
in
a
report
earlier
this
year.”