Key Points
Solana has recently overtaken Ethereum in terms of weekly on-chain trading volumes. This is largely due to a significant increase in meme coin activity.
Trading Volume Increase
A report from Wintermute indicates that Solana’s (SOL) trading volume has increased by 50%, reaching $51 billion. In comparison, Ethereum (ETH) has reached a trading volume of $46 billion. This reflects the ongoing recovery of the cryptocurrency sector from recent lows.
Meme coins are a major factor behind this momentum. They now make up 40% of Solana’s trading activity. This is largely due to the meme coin marketplace pump.fun, which accounts for 35% of Solana’s total decentralized exchange volume.
Despite the significant hype, only a small percentage of pump.fun wallets have generated significant returns. Specifically, only 0.76% of these wallets have generated $1,000 or more.
The rise in speculative trading has resulted in a dramatic increase in token generation on the Solana network. The network now holds an 86% market share, up from 60% in early September. The number of tokens generated weekly has also increased significantly, from 45,000 to 110,000 tokens.
Meme coins have also outperformed other sectors. The GMCI’s Meme Index rose 34% in September, just behind the 39% growth of the GMAI Index. So far this year, the index has increased 140%, far outpacing the GMAI Index’s 83% growth.
Some analysts believe that Solana’s growing meme coin activity could potentially catalyze broader growth across the entire industry. They suggest that the current calm in the crypto markets could be a prelude to a storm as the U.S. election approaches.