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A recent report from cryptocurrency data and research firm Messari highlighted the performance of the Solana (SOL) ecosystem during the third quarter of 2024. The report highlights the combination of growth and challenges that blockchain faces amid widespread volatility in the cryptocurrency market during that period.
The market cap of the Solana stablecoin has risen to $3.8 billion
One notable metric in the report is Solana’s total value locked (TVL) growth Decentralized finance (DeFi), which rose 26% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to $5.7 billion.
This growth makes Solana the third largest network in terms of DeFi TVL, surpassing Tron in late September. It is worth noting that the total insurance value denominated in petroleum diesel also increased by 20% on a quarterly basis, reaching 37 million soles.
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Kamino emerged as a leading player in the Solana ecosystem, seeing 57% growth in TVL, ending the quarter with $1.5 billion and capturing a 26% market share. This increase was attributed to the incorporation of new tokens, including PayPal’s USD (PYUSD) and jupSOL, which enhanced the platform’s appeal.
Despite the general positive trends, Decentralized exchange DEX trading volume saw a slight decline, reflecting a decline in memecoin trading. Average daily spot trading volume for direct securities fell 10% quarter-on-quarter to $1.7 billion.
per a reportHowever, the decreasing interest in memecoins was evident, with only two tokens – WIF and POPCAT – managing to make it into the top 10 in terms of trading volume for the quarter.
In contrast, Solana’s stablecoin ecosystem has shown resilience, with stablecoin market capitalization growing 23% QoQ to $3.8 billion, cementing its position as the fifth largest network in the category.
on Non-fungible token (NFT) but performance was less favorable. Average daily NFT volume fell 27% quarter-on-quarter to $2.5 million, with Magic Eden maintaining a dominant market share despite a 44% drop in volume.
Network activity is booming
Despite the challenges, the number of funding rounds for projects within the Solana ecosystem saw a 37% decline QoQ, with only 29 projects announcing funding. However, the total amount raised rose to $173 million, an increase of 54% QoQ and the highest quarterly funding since Q2 2022.
Network activity remained strong, as evidenced by a 109% increase in average daily fee payers, which reached 1.9 million. Additionally, average daily new payers rose 430% QoQ to 1.3 million, indicating a growing user base.
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Average Transaction fees on Solana by 6% quarter-on-quarter to 0.00015 sol (about 0.023 USD), while the average transaction fee decreased by 19% to 0.000008 sol (about 0.0013 USD).
As of October 15, Solana’s market capitalization also grew by 5% quarter-on-quarter, reaching $71 billion and maintaining its position as the fifth-largest cryptocurrency, behind only Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, and Binance Coin.
However, Real economic value (REV) from Solana, which tracks transaction fees and the miner’s extractable value (MEV) for validators, fell 25% quarter-on-quarter to 1.3 million soles (about $196 million), with 56% of that total coming from transaction fees.
At the time of writing, SOL is trading at $166, down 5% over the seven-day period.
Featured image of DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com