The
Solana
blockchain’s
native
token
SOL
broke
$100
Saturday,
reclaiming
a
price
level
not
seen
since
the
eve
of
Terra’s
collapse
a
year
and
a
half
ago.
At
press
time
SOL
was
valued
at
around
$102
a
coin.
It
has
increased
in
value
more
than
tenfold
in
2023
and
is
up
over
70%
in
December
alone,
according
to
CoinDesk
Indices.
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.
Solana
is
a
smart
contracts
platform
that
supports
fast
and
cheap
crypto
transactions.
It
has
been
compared
to
Ethereum,
which
despite
Solana’s
ascendence,
is
still
the
most
popular
and
best-known
place
for
crypto
traders
to
play
on-chain.
