Solana’s native token has experienced a remarkable surge over the past 24 hours, defying broader market consolidation to surpass the $200 mark. SOL has surged by 10.33% during this period, reaching a current trading price of $204.16 according to CoinMarketCap data at the time of writing.
Furthermore, SOL boasts a formidable market capitalization exceeding $90 billion, solidifying its position as the fourth-largest cryptocurrency in the market.
March 17, 2024, marked a significant milestone for Solana as it surpassed the $200 threshold for the first time since December 2021.
What Drives the Surge?
During the weekend, Solana’s network activity surged past that of Ethereum (ETH), primarily fueled by the popularity of SOL-based meme coins. According to DefiLlama, Solana’s total trading volume reached $3.52 billion, surpassing Ethereum’s daily volume by more than $1.1 billion on March 16th.
On Sunday, the Solana-based BOOK OF MEME (BOME) token experienced an extraordinary spike, soaring by 322% within the last 24 hours. Notably, it crossed the $1 billion market cap milestone with an impressive trading volume of $4.73 billion in a single day.
Another contributing factor to Solana’s momentum is its decentralized finance (DeFi) total value locked (TVL) over the past month. DefiLlama data reveals an 80% increase in TVL, reaching its highest level in the past two years.
Solana Popularity in Google Trends Hit 100
In another notable development, the search popularity for the keyword ‘Solana’ has surged to a score of 100 on Google Trends, marking its highest level in the past five years.
Blockchain investigator WuBlockchain highlighted that the second-highest search popularity, scoring 84, was observed in early September 2021.
However, this surge isn’t unprecedented for the cryptocurrency. Back in December 2023, the search interest in Solana had more than doubled that of Ethereum, indicating a clear trend of investors shifting their focus towards SOL.
During that time, Google Trends data even forecasted that Solana’s search interest would soon reach a score of 100, which signifies “peak popularity for the term.”
As this trend intensifies, Lookonchain reported that significant investors are seizing the opportunity to capitalize on profits by selling off their SOL holdings.
“Following the rise in SOL’s price, large investors have begun offloading their SOL holdings to secure profits.”
