Solana has grown nearly 13,000% year-to-date and while adoption has been increasing, there may be more than meets the eye.
The top cryptocurrencies by market capitalization keep changing over time as the industry matures. Solana (SOL) has seen its value skyrocket so far this year and has been consistently processing over 2,500 transactions per second.
The cryptocurrency’s price, according to TradingView data, is up nearly 13,000% year-to-date as the year started with SOL trading slightly below $2. Solana is now changing hands-on exchanges for around $240.
Solana is a blockchain platform that aims to achieve high transaction speeds at a low cost without sacrificing decentralization. To do so, it relies on a number of unique features, including a “proof-of-history” mechanism. This allows Solana to process an estimated 50,000 transactions per second, compared to Bitcoin’s seven and Ethereum’s 15.
As the Solana network supports smart contracts, decentralized finance (DeFi) applications have found a home on it. Its ecosystem now has nearly $15 billion worth of crypto assets locked on it, according to DeFiLlama data.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, Kraken Intelligence manager Pete Humiston noted that almost all crypto assets have benefitted from a year-long bull run, although Solana has seen “particularly strong price appreciation due to its Web 3.0 experience.”
Humiston added that transactions on Solana are “instant, cost a fraction of a penny and the ecosystem is easy to navigate thanks to user-friendly wallets and applications” contributing to its adoption.