From Magic Eden launch $ME to traders moving to Tron, here is a 3-minute breakdown of everything important that happened in Solana this week.
TL:DR
- Solana's price broke $160 before sliding back to $147
- Ecosystem TVL grew to $5.15B
- Magic Eden launches $ME token and mobile wallet app
- Pump.fun activity declines as traders move to Tron
- Brazil approves second Solana ETF
- PayPal's PYUSD stablecoin hits $650M on Solana
- Meme coins POPCAT and MUMU surge
We've got the scoop on Magic Eden's big move, some DeFi drama, and even PayPal making waves. Plus, we'll dive into the latest on NFTs and what's cooking in the world of meme coins.
Let's jump in!
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Solana This Week: Overview
It’s been another choppy choppy 7 days for $SOL after its spot ETF prospects capsized last week. The Ethereum challenger rode the bullish wave of Bitcoin’s move to $65,000, which was catalyzed by Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole where he announced that it would soon start reducing interest rates.
Also, Robert F. Kennedy (RFK)’s official endorsement of Donald Trump over the weekend improved the election-winning odds of the Bitcoin-loving ex-president, which crypto markets love.
As a result, $SOL finally broke out of the $140 range, only to find resistance above the $160 level 3 times before sliding back down to around $147 following the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov. It currently sits at a market cap of $68.6 billion, fully diluted to $85.9 billion.
Watch
It was hard to judge a winner after Round 1 in the Ethereum vs Solana debate earlier this year. However, this week’s Bankless interview with Solana giga brain Kyle Samani is essential “alpha” viewing if you want to understand what makes the Proof-of-History chain really tick and why SOL/ETH is up 300% during the last 12 months.
Solana Ecosystem
TVL, Stables and Activity All Increase, But Where’s the Volume?
Solana’s total ecosystem continues to expand.
It’s currently (Aug 27) sitting at $252 billion, as high as $262 billion a few days ago, and up from $247 billion for the 7-day period. According to DeFiLlama, the chain’s total value locked (TVL) has increased from $ 4.92 billion to $5.15 billion, of which stablecoins comprise nearly $4 billion. That’s nearly 80%!
So as you can see, there’s plenty of dollars ready to go once the US starts its money printer up again.
Even better, users are flocking to Solana and in the last 24 hours, 1.74 active addresses have been recorded, up nearly 50% from the 1.2m active addresses when I wrote last week’s roundup.
Source: DeFillama
In the last 24 hours, Solana’s ecosystem has handled a trading volume of $2.5 billion, generating $713k in fees and $356k in revenue.
While TVL has remained largely stable over the summer months, it’s worrying to see the huge drop in volume and fees continue to trend on Solana though, as the network contends with the meme coin hangover and surging challengers like TON, Tron and BNB.
Here’s how this month’s flavor TRON has been stacking up against Solana since June.
We can see it taking all Solana Summer’s heat since mid-August in terms of fees and revenue, as Justin Sun began to court all those jaded Pump.fun meme survivors and welcome them to his Sun.Pump copycat.
Tron also has 50% more TVL than Solana, despite having only 16% of its fully diluted value. That’s 6x smaller.
The crypto veterans among us will remember that Tron used to be called “Chinese Ethereum” when it launched, shall we rename it to “Chinese Solana” instead?
Top 5 Solana Stories This Week
1. Magic Eden Launches $ME Token and Mobile Wallet App
Magic Eden finally announces its $ME token, claimable only through the new Magic Eden Wallet mobile app. The long-anticipated airdrop is based on the platform's Diamond rewards program. Some users express concerns about the forced app download and seed phrase import requirement for claiming tokens.
Magic Eden currently commands 2/3rds of Solana's NFT market share ahead of its $ME token launch. Despite ME's dominance in trade volume, rival Tensor has handled more trades recently, suggesting Magic Eden processes larger sales.
2. RobinHood Adds Solana Support for its Wallet, but SOL stays delisted
Robinhood has expanded its Web3 wallet functionality to include token swaps and send/receive capabilities for Solana native tokens, joining support for several other blockchain networks.
However, SOL itself remains delisted for American users on Robinhood's exchange due to ongoing SEC concerns about its status as a potential security.
3. Pump.fun Activity Declines on Solana
Pump.fun, once Solana's revenue-generating powerhouse who’s turned into its “Ah Kill Us!” heel, continues to dump. Daily launches dropped 47% in two weeks, with revenue falling 40%.
The platform recorded its lowest number of launches since March. Traders have shifted their attention to other networks like Tron, where Justin Sun launched a copycat called sun.pump.
4. Brazil Approves Second Solana ETF
Brazilian regulators approve a second Solana ETF, reinforcing the country's support for the asset.
Offered by Hashdex in partnership with BTG Pactual, this approval solidifies Latin America's position as a growing hub of Solana activity. Meanwhile, U.S. approval for a Solana ETF remains unlikely in the near future according to experts.
5. PayPal's Stablecoin Reaches $1B Market Cap on Solana
PayPal's PYUSD stablecoin surpasses $1 billion in market cap, driven by expansion to Solana and DeFi reward programs. The token's supply on Solana reached $650 million in three months, surpassing its Ethereum presence. However, concerns persist about the sustainability of growth once incentives phase out.
Categories
Meme Coins
$POPCAT has made a stunning recovery this week, up 57% to hit a market cap of $700m, which puts it in a clear 3rd place. It’s up well over 100% from its Black Monday bottom. $MUMU the Bull also saw green this week, jumping 70% over the weekend until it retraced for a gain of 27% for the last 7 days.
Top 10 Memecoins 7-day performance
Source: Forbes
DeFi
Solana DeFi was pretty flat the last 7 days, taking strain from the aforementioned Tron season.
Only Kamino (+5%) and Jupiter (+78%) have been in the green for the last 30 days. We’ll have to wait and see if Solana Breakpoint and a return to the office for institutions will kick start activity again.
Source: DeFiLlama
Solana DePIN
It’s been a good week for Render (+25%) and Nosana (+40%), with the two crypto AI protocols predictably seeing some nice green candles before Nvidia’s earnings report on Wednesday.
NFTs
According to NFTPulse data, Solana continues to top most NFT categories, and the MagicEden token launch and incoming airdrop created some extra impetus this week as NFT traders rush in to earn more points.
What You Can Do Now
September is days away, so what can we expect next?
Well, the first month of fall has historically been reddish the last few years, even during the last Bitcoin halving year of 2020.
However, October is another story altogether, as this Binance graph shows.
Therefore September provides a good opportunity to take stock of what’s happening in Solanaland (pro tip: look into Solana projects that have keynote speeches scheduled at Token2049 and Breakpoint) in the meantime.
You can also do this right now:
- Check out Magic Eden's new mobile wallet app to prepare for the $ME token airdrop (please make sure you follow official links and don’t get phished).
- Look into Solana's DeFi platforms, especially Jupiter and Kamino, which are showing growth.
- Keep an eye on the upcoming Solana Breakpoint event for potential ecosystem updates.
- Figure out what the fuss is about POPCAT and MUMU meme coins.
- See why Render and Nosana are two of the hottest Solana DePIN projects.
Lastly, network effect is what makes every top crypto chain stay alive over time, so don’t fade the following:
SolanaFloor’s just dropped this tweet announcing a new ATH in active wallets. Bullish much? Roll on September! 🚀🚀🚀
https://twitter.com/SolanaFloor/status/1828908206942564380/photo/1
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