According to CoinDesk, the native token of the Solana blockchain, SOL, surpassed the $100 mark on Saturday, reaching a price level not seen since the eve of Terra's collapse a year and a half ago. At the time of reporting, SOL was valued at around $102 per coin. The token has increased in value more than tenfold in 2023 and is up over 70% in December alone, according to CoinDesk Indices.
Saturday's price action capped weeks of frenzied trading that have temporarily vaulted the Solana blockchain up the leaderboard for on-chain activity. Solana-based decentralized exchanges are nearing Uniswap's multibillion-dollar trading volumes for the first time, as reported by DefiLlama. Much of this activity is driven by rampant speculation, with some of the most popular crypto assets being traded on Solana being dog-themed meme coins. Airdrops have also prompted droves of traders to test out Solana-based lenders, bridges, and other infrastructure.
Solana is a smart contracts platform that supports fast and cheap crypto transactions. It has been compared to Ethereum, which, despite Solana's ascendence, remains the most popular and best-known place for crypto traders to engage in on-chain activities.
