From Pump.fun facing backlash to Solayer receiving Binance Labs' backing, here is a 3-minute breakdown of everything important that happened in Solana this week.
TL:DR
- Meme Coins: Pump.fun faces backlash for churning out numerous failed tokens but is introducing changes, as shorting protocols launch
- Stablecoins: Solana's stablecoin supply is up 46% in five months, with PayPal's PYUSD surpassing Ethereum's supply
- DeFi: Binance Labs supports Solayer for restaking on Solana, while Renzo introduces ezSOL, the first liquid restaking token on Solana
- DePIN: Hivemapper rewards over $11M since September 2023, and WeatherXM goes to the Olympics
Solana Overview
Still battling the blues after last week’s Black Monday?
Same same with Solana.
After bouncing from 5 August’s $110 to $163 on 9 August, the price of SOL is again where it was 7 days ago, at $144 and with a $67 billion market cap. It’s still up 6.30% for the month.
Total value locked (TVL) is $4.8 billion, with $3.78 billion in stablecoins. In the last 24 hours, Solana has handled a trading volume of $1.09 billion, generating $1.15 million in fees.
Here’s how it’s comparing with ETH right now, according to DeFiLlama:
Top Stories This Week
Meme Coins
Pump.fun, Solana’s crazy meme coin launchpad, is under fire.
Once praised for boosting activity and SOL’s price, it’s now despised for churning out 98.5% failed launches—1.6 million tokens to date—and raking in massive fees, outpacing even Ethereum.
Then this week’s Elon Trump debate showed the ‘Meme Coin McDonalds’ flaws in real-time:
In response, Pump.fun first did this:
Then, after exiting the Solosseum, they did this:
- Token creation is now free, with a $2 fee for the first buyer.
- Developers reaching a $69k market cap and migrating to Raydium will earn a 0.5 SOL reward.
- These updates aim to reduce scams and ensure developers back their projects.
The result?
Pump.fun set a new ATH record on August 14, collecting $5.3M in fees, double that of Ethereum’s Lido.
In response, a couple of new protocols like Margin.Fi’s The Arena and Save Finance’s Dumpy.fun are launching meme shorting protocols.
Pump.fun founder Alon has promised “100x better curation” and “work to be done” in a long tweet.
And in Stablecoins:
PYUSD Supply Flips Ethereum as SOL Stables up 50% in 5 months
Solana's stablecoin scene is on fire, with supply shooting up 46% since March 2024, and recently topping $5B, thanks to high DEX and perpetual trading volumes.
Newcomers like PayPal's PYUSD have joined the party, pushing the growth even further. and its Solana supply has just surpassed Ethereum's.
USDC is still the top dog (ok ok I still love my Labrador), but PYUSD's supply has exploded by 646%.
The $744M in net inflows suggests traders are ready for action in Solana’s thriving ecosystem. This one is a no-brainer, thanks to Solana's faster transactions and lower fees compared to Ethereum.
Right now, Ethereum has over $80 billion in stablecoins, while Solana has only $3.8 billion according to DeFiLlama, less than 5%.What’s interesting though is its 24h volumes ($1.4b vs $1.10b)and fees of $1.67m vs $1.15m. With Solana stablecoin holdings up nearly 50% in the last 5 months, this influx of crispy fresh new crypto dollars is very promising.
In DeFi
Binance Labs Backs Solayer Restaking and Renzo Makes It EZ
Not content with stealing its stables, Solana’s now aiming to beat Ethereum at another one of its games: Restaking.
- Binance Labs has announced it’s backing Solayer, a new player in Solana's restaking scene. Solayer's platform offers a way to restake assets, enhancing liquidity and maximizing returns.
- ETH staking platform Renzo is launching the first liquid restaking token on Solana, called ezSOL, which will hook you up with the juicy yields from Jito Labs’ restaking platform. Basically, you deposit your SOL, get back ezSOL, and Renzo does the heavy lifting by staking it with Jito to earn jitoSOL. You get the drift.
- These developments come as MNDE and KMNO are leading the pack with some of the highest staking rates in the Solana ecosystem. However, there’s some debate about how sustainable these high yields are. Critics suggest rates may not hold up in the long term.
Bad News: Future of Solana's WBTC in Doubt
Solana's WBTC future is looking a bit shaky after BitGo announced a joint venture with BitGlobal, a company linked to Justin Sun.
This move aims to spread the $108m worth of WBTC custody across multiple jurisdictions but has sparked controversy due to Sun's involvement. MakerDAO is considering ditching WBTC altogether, citing Sun's track record. While BitGo and Sun ensure everything's fine, the crypto community remains wary.
DePin
Hivemapper Rewards Over $11M
Hivemapper has been on a roll, dishing out over $11 million in rewards since September 2023. This decentralized mapping network on Solana is turning heads with its innovative approach.
By rewarding users for contributing mapping data, the DePIN project has built a lively community that’s driving serious growth.
Imagine earning crypto while helping to build a global map—it’s like getting paid for your morning run. Hivemapper is trying hard to show that DePIN on Solana is the Next Big Thing.
Decentralized Weather Tracking at the Olympics
WeatherXM just made the Olympics a bit tech-savvy by installing 40 Pulse weather stations around the venues.
These $900 gadgets track precise weather data like temperature, solar radiation, and air pressure, and they even reward operators with tokens.
If you watched Australia take on Samoa at Stade de France, you might’ve seen one of these high-tech devices in action. It’s a cool mix of sports and cutting-edge tech, showing how decentralized networks can provide real-time environmental data.
What You Can Do Now
To stay ahead in the Solana ecosystem, stay on top of the latest developments.
- If you're trading meme coins, it could be worth a look at memecoin leverage trading protocols, but beware: shorting can quickly become a nightmare for even the best trader, and in a sector as volatile as meme coins, you’re asking for trouble.
- Stakers should look into restaking options for potentially higher returns, but again, make sure the juice is worth the risk that comes with the squeeze.
- Finally, start reading up on DePIN and other hot narratives that should shine at next month’s Solana Breakpoint conference in Singapore (20-21 September). It’s an event not to be missed.
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