December blues continue for Solana as $SOL took a 5.42% dip this week (Dec. 4 -11), mirroring the broader crypto market's struggles despite Bitcoin’s historic $100K milestone.
Solana Numbers the Last 7 Days
December blues continue for Solana as $SOL took a 5.42% dip this week (Dec. 4 -11), mirroring the broader crypto market's struggles despite Bitcoin’s historic $100K milestone.
In other developments, President-elect Donald Trump has appointed David Sacks, a major Solana bull and investor in MultiChain Capital, as the White House's first-ever AI and Crypto Czar. But it’s not all bullish—the SEC and its Chair Gary Gensler have signaled rejections for two Solana ETF applications in the death throes of the current administration’s tenure.
The bull market show goes on. Let’s dive in!
- Price: $223.48, down 5.42%
- Market cap: $106.5 billion
- DeFi TVL: $8.941 billion billion
- Daily active addresses: >5.4 million
- 24H trading volume: $7.65 billion
Solana soared to a weekly high of $245 on Dec. 6, fueled by the exciting news that the popular Ethereum-based Pudgy Penguins NFT collection will be launching its $PENGU token on the Solana network. However, a market-wide shake-up on Dec. 10 sent SOL crashing below $205, though it’s now showing signs of recovery.
In a positive twist, Solana managed to flip BNB, claiming the title of the fifth-largest cryptocurrency—a testament to how even small victories can make a difference in this volatile market.
But it wasn’t all good news. The total value locked (TVL) and active wallets took a hit, marking another tough week for the network.
On a brighter note, weekly DEX volume surged nearly 17%, hitting $32.572 billion.
Solana’s DEXs, led by Raydium, made a strong comeback, with volume surging past $30 billion after a previous slump. While many platforms posted double-digit gains, a few still saw declines in trading activity.
Lifinity and Phoenix led the charge, but Raydium continues to reign with a weekly volume of nearly $15 billion. Raydium outpaced Ethereum’s Uniswap in monthly DEX volume for the second time in a row with a whopping 30% in November, according to Messari. That’s another Solana win.
How Did Solana Stack Up Against Its Competitors?
It’s been a week of indecision in the crypto market, with the focus shifting from gains to losses. Solana slipped just over 5% while Ethereum dipped only 0.95%, bolstered by a brief surge to $4,000. Bitcoin’s retreat sparks hopes of a prolonged altcoin season.
While we briefly entered the promised land last week, we’re back in Bitcoin Season again for the time being, according to CoinMarketCap’s Altcoin Season tracker.
https://coinmarketcap.com/charts/altcoin-season-index/
BNB suffered a significant blow, losing its spot as the fifth-largest crypto to Solana after less than a week. Meanwhile, XRP cooled off, dropping 11% after its blistering recent rally.
In DeFi, Solana's TVL dipped slightly while Tron experienced a significant loss. In the past 24 hours, Solana generated $4.2 million in fees, ranking second only to Ethereum, and surpassing the combined fees of Tron and Arbitrum.
Solana Ecosystem the Last Week
It was a tough week for Solana ecosystem tokens, with most seeing losses. Only a few managed to buck the trend and post gains. Top Solana game Star Atlas finally had a solid pump, up 42% this week.
Top Gainers:
- Star Atlas (STAR): +42.11%
- Raydium (RAY): +8.83%
- Jito (JTO): +8.26%
- io.net (IO): +7.26%
- Render (RENDER): +2.59%
Top Losers:
- PYTH Network (PYTH): -22.15%
- The Graph (GRT): -18.62%
- Arweave (AR): -18.61%
- Jupiter (JUP): -14.72%
- ChainLink (LINK): -7.82%
Solana DeFi
Solana’s total value locked (TVL) dipped 4.8% this week to $8.97 billion, but it managed to reclaim the second spot in the TVL rankings.
Tron suffered the biggest hit, plummeting 44% to $7.774 billion, dropping to third place. Ethereum held steady at the top, while Solana now holds nearly 7% of the DeFi market share, leaving Tron at 6%.
Solana Meme Coins
Solana’s meme coins weren’t immune to this week’s market turmoil, with most struggling to stay afloat. However, a few managed to defy the odds. Gigachad (GIGA) surged 58%, hinting at flashes of a bull market spark.
Meanwhile, the Pump.fun saga continues to stir controversy, with the meme coin launcher now banned in the UK, adding more fuel to the drama.
Top Gainers:
- Gigachad (GIGA): +58.2%
- Bobaoppa (BOBAOPPA): +32.96%
- Daddy Tate (DADDY): +7.15%
- Smoking Chicken Fish (SCF): +16.9%
- Mumu the Bull (MUMU): +4.05%
Top Losers:
- Moo Deng (MOODENG): -34.1%
- Myro (MYRO): - 20.69%
- Ponke (PONKE): -18.01%
- Goatseus Maximus (GOAT): -16.73%
- BOOK OF MEME (BOME): -16.67%
Solana DePIN
- Solana's DePIN tokens had a mixed week, with some rising while others struggled under market pressure.
- Grass (GRASS) and Helium IOT (IOT) were the biggest losers, dropping 14.5% and 9.4%, respectively.
- Io.net led the pack, posting a solid gain of 7.7%.
NFTs
- Solana’s NFT user base saw a slight change, while Ethereum experienced a significant decline.
- ApeChain emerged as a new player, with its growing user base impacting both Solana and Ethereum.
Top 5 Solana News Stories
SEC May Reject Solana ETF Applications
Reports suggest the SEC may reject at least two Solana ETF applications, potentially serving as Chairman Gary Gensler's parting gift to the crypto community before his departure in January.
Trump Picks Solana Bull for Crypto Czar
David Sacks, recently appointed by President-elect Donald Trump as the next U.S. "Crypto Czar,” is a strong Solana supporter and an investor in the SOL-focused firm Multicoin Capital.
Jupiter Approves $860M JUP Airdrop
Jupiter, a decentralized exchange aggregator, has approved a proposal to airdrop $860 million worth of JUP tokens
Pudgy Penguins To Launch "Pengu" Crypto on Solana
Pudgy Penguins, the popular Ethereum-based NFT collection, plans to launch its cryptocurrency, Pengu, on Solana this month. Of the supply, 25% will be allocated to the Solana ecosystem.
Raydium Outperforms Uniswap in Monthly Volumes
Raydium has surpassed Uniswap in monthly volumes for the second month in a row. In November, Raydium outpaced Uniswap by about 30% or $30 billion in volume.
What You Can Do Now
- Stay informed and ready for any outcome as the SEC prepares to decide on Solana ETF applications.
- Keep track of regulatory updates and policies under the leadership of Crypto Czar David Sacks.
- Check if you qualify for Jupiter's $860 million JUP token airdrop and claim your share today.
- Be among the first to grab Pengu tokens as Pudgy Penguins launches on Solana this month.
- Follow Raydium’s growing momentum as it continues outpacing Uniswap in monthly volumes.
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