Solana (SOL) Surges By 300% Over Rival Ethereum (ETH) In Q4 2024

Solana (SOL), known as the David to Ethereum’s Goliath, has cemented its position in the top echelons of the cryptocurrency market after recording a nearly 300% year-to-date surge against Ethereum (ETH) in the last three months. 

The fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization witnessed an extraordinary 544% spike in value since November as its price hit a yearly high of $118.3 – a level not observed by SOL since April 2022. 

Despite the progress, Solana is still valued around 9 times lower than Ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. SOL has a circulating market cap of $31 billion, compared to the whopping $267 billion market cap of ETH. 

During the same period, the SOL/ETH price graph showed the value of Solana ascending, reaching 0.051 ETH ($110.95) per SOL.

Experts say this trend has not been observed since December 2021 and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. 

There have been several contributing factors to Solana’s resurgence, such as increased demand, token airdrops, and user engagement. 

Token Airdrops Act As Catalyst For Rising Demand 

Analysts noted that a series of token airdrops undertaken on Solana’s Layer-1 blockchain in the last month has been crucial to its increased popularity. 

As per on-chain data complied by crypto market research firm Messari, the daily user activity on Solana experienced a 400% boost compared to the modest 3% increase on Ethereum during the same timeframe. 

The most notable event that occurred on the Solana blockchain in November was the execution of a token airdrop for its oracle network Pyth, where 250 million PYTH tokens valued at $77 million were distributed. 

Meanwhile, between October and December, the price of SOL rose by an impressive 244%, which earned blockchain praise from some key figures in the market.

Cathie Wood, the CEO of crypto asset management firm ARK Invest, commended Solana for its speed and cost efficiency compared to Ethereum. 

Uptick in Trading Volumes on Solana-based DEXs 

According to Messari, Solana-based decentralized exchanges (DEX) achieved the second-highest transaction volume for DEXs over the last month, closely trailing Ethereum, which leads the chart. 

Crypto data platform Artemis reported that in November, Solana DEXs recorded a 255% surge in transaction volume, hitting $871 million. 

Additionally, the Google Search Volume Index for Solana soared from 14 to 49 within two months, while searches for the name leaped by 250% between October and December.

This is indicative of increased interest and awareness about the Solana blockchain and its native token SOL. 

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Solana Flips BNB to Become Fourth-Largest Cryptocurrency 

On Christmas Eve, Solana reached a new milestone after surpassing Binance Coin (BNB) to become the crypto token with the fourth-largest market capitalization. SOL achieved the mark after its price hit $119, marking a 67.3% rise over the past seven days. 

Currently, Solana’s market capitalization stands at $47.42 billion while BNB is hot on its tail with a $44.5 billion market capitalization. 

Another noteworthy fact is that SOL even managed to outperform leading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) in trading volume on Coinbase. 

Solana’s impressive performance in the last quarter of the year has market observers convinced of its position in the crypto arena.

By surpassing Ethereum in some key areas like DEX performance, Solana is leading the charge in shifting the crypto landscape toward innovative solutions. 

At the time of writing, SOL is trading at $110.49 – down 4.1% in the last 24 hours. 

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