Solana (SOL), one of the biggest gaining crypto of 2023 is still riding on the upward momentum. However, it might have witnessed a price drop due to broad market correction but its ecosystem is still flourishing. The latest data suggest that Solana is recording a surge in NFT activities in direct competition with Ethereum (ETH).
Solana to overtake Ether?
Data shared by Solanians depicts Solana’s weekly sales volume skyrocketing to $62 million. This surge has even outpaced Bitcoin. However, Cryptoslam data highlights that from January 18 to January 25, SOL’s weekly trading volume in the NFT space exceeded $62 million. This reflects a remarkable 17% jump compared to Bitcoin’s $53 million volume during the same period.
Historically, the Ethereum network has dominated the NFT market but Solana surpassed it in December 2023. SOL network recorded NFT sales exceeding $365 million. However, the network started slower in January yet its NFT sales gained momentum to reach $192 million. Notable collections on the network include Froganas, CryptoUndeads, Claynosaurz, Sujiko Warriors, and Tensorians.
The ongoing trend shows Solana’s success is outpacing Ethereum and Bitcoin in NFT sales volume. This also signals a surge in competition in the NFT space ahead. However, Ether remains the leader for the month with an NFT sales volume of $291 million.
The introduction of NFTs on Solana in 2022 and OpenSea’s incorporation of Solana NFTs in April spurred substantial growth in NFT trading on the Solana blockchain. The priciest Solana NFT to date, SolMonkey #1355 from the SolanaMonkeyBusiness collection, was sold for 13,027 SOL (approx worth $2.1 million).
What’s new with SOL?
Solana in the latest announcement unveiled token extensions that will represent the next generation of the SPL Token standard. As reported, these extensions offer a suite of turnkey solutions tailored to meet the needs of businesses operating on-chain.
It added that with over a dozen token extensions at the program level, Solana aims to unlock new use-cases. This will include enhancing stablecoins, elevating game assets, and facilitating governance for real-world asset (RWA) issuance. The move reflects the network’s commitment to providing advanced token functionality, security, and compliance controls. It is expected that this move will contribute to the growth of its ecosystem.
Despite the recent plunge, Solana price is still up by 50% in the last 60 days. SOL is trading at an average price of $88.22, at the press time.
