$26M Staked in Solana as Memecoin Rises by 1,500%

• $26 million SOL has been staked, indicating strong investor confidence as the price rises by 12% over the last week.
• The Firedancer upgrade aims for a target of 1 million transactions per second, enhancing Solana’s capacity and dependability by 2025.

Solana [SOL] has made impressive strides in 2023, establishing itself as a key rival to Ethereum [ETH]. Currently priced at $172.41, Solana has achieved a 12.07% increase over the previous week, despite a minor 0.51% dip in the last 24 hours.

With a market cap of $81 billion, Solana is buoyed by a circulating supply of 470 million SOL.

Source: TradingView

In the past three days, a new wallet withdrew 150,011 SOL (approximately $26.25 million) from Binance and proceeding to stake it as per Lookonchain data. This substantial staking activity reflects enhanced confidence among investors and backs the continued bullish sentiment around SOL.

Soaring Solana-Based Memecoin: 1,500% Increase

Meanwhile, a new Solana-based memecoin, Goatseus Maximus (GOAT), has surged dramatically, increasing by nearly 1,500% within two weeks. This rapid ascent occurred even prior to its official exchange listing, signifying robust community interest.

Trading at $0.6322, GOAT is currently consolidating its price at this level as it gears up for a potential rally.

Crypto analyst Altcoin Sherpa noted that GOAT has the potential to lead the Solana memecoin sector, highlighting its impressive initial performance.

Memecoins have contributed significantly to transaction volume and active addresses within the Solana ecosystem, aiding recent growth metrics.

DeFi Activity and Network Metrics

The DeFi sector of Solana remains vibrant, with a Total Value Locked (TVL) of $6.69 billion, as reported by DeFiLlama data. Although there was a 1.10% decrease in the last 24 hours, Solana continues to maintain a strong foothold in the DeFi landscape.

Daily metrics indicate 4.11 million active addresses and 37.88 million transactions, showcasing robust user engagement.

Source: DefiLlama

Revenue data from the previous day show $4.55 million in fees and $2.27 million in revenue, illustrating a consistent flow of network activity.

Solana’s capability to maintain high transaction volumes and DeFi inflows could pave the way for future price increases, especially as more users engage with its ecosystem.

Firedancer Upgrade: Catalyst for Future Growth

Additionally, Solana’s upcoming Firedancer upgrade, anticipated for 2025, aims to significantly enhance network capacity and reliability. The upgrade is expected to allow for transaction throughput of up to 1 million transactions per second through sharding technology.

Read Solana’s [SOL] Price Prediction 2024–2025

This upgrade could enhance the coin’s appeal to institutional investors, likely boosting user adoption beyond the memecoin sector.

The Firedancer upgrade is also targeted at minimizing network downtime, which has been a historical issue. Analysts believe that if Solana can realize these advancements, its market cap might reach close to half of Ethereum’s, further narrowing the gap between the two platforms.