From Drift's prediction market boom to meme coin meltdowns, Solana's ecosystem is a rollercoaster of innovation and volatility this week!
TL:DR
- $SOL and Solana ecosystem tank after Nvidia drama and job market data
- Drift Protocol's prediction platform’s 24h trade volume pumps 3400%
- Marinade's Stake Auction Marketplace faces validator criticism
- Pump.fun reaches $100M cumulative revenue amid declining activity
- Major exchanges announce plans for Solana LSTs
Solana This Week (9/28-10/4)
Rough week for Solana. The ecosystem took a $6 billion nosedive, leaving it just above the $242 billion mark.
Why? Well, blame it on the Nvidia drama and some not-so-great US job numbers. Bitcoin dipped below $56,500, and SOL got dragged down to the mid-$120s.
DeFiLlama's numbers show Solana's TVL (total value locked) dropped from $5.15 billion to $4.67 billion. On-chain action's been cooling off too, mainly 'cause Pump.fun isn't the hot ticket it used to be.
Here's a head-scratcher: TVL's generally up, but fees and revenue? They've been on a downward slide all through Q3. Looks like the Pump.fun craze and meme coin mania are pumping Solana’s brakes a little.
On the plus side, Artemis shows that daily active addresses remain above 3 million, which is divergent from the recent drop in price. Also, Drift’s prediction market boom shows that users are finding shiny new things to play with on Solana.
Solana X Wars
Solana vs Ethereum
Source: DeFillama
Top 5 Solana Stories This Week
Drift Protocol's BET Platform Goes Bonkers
Drift’s prediction market saw a 3,398% jump in 24-hour trading. $20M in daily volume, outpacing PolyMarket.
Marinade's New Staking Market Causes a Stir
Solana validators aren't too happy with Marinade Finance's Stake Auction Marketplace (SAM). They're worried it might let the bad guys game the system. Marinade's CEO, Michael Repetny, says it's all working as planned, but not everyone's buying it.
Pump.fun Hits $100M
The meme coin factory reached $100 million in total revenue, despite all the haters and the Sun King’s rival platform. But daily token launches are way down - just 5,388 on August 31st, the lowest since March. Some people are grumbling that Pump.fun's all take and no give for the Solana ecosystem.
Saga Mobile Throws Its Hat in the Validator Ring
Teaming up with Phase Labs and the Solana Foundation, Saga Mobile launched its own Solana validator. They're talking big about boosting security and decentralization. Oh, and there's a new Saga phone coming next year if you're into that sort of thing.
Big Exchanges Eyeing Solana for Staking Tokens
Binance, ByBit, and BitGet are all planning to launch Liquid Staking Tokens on Solana. Looks like they'll be powered by Sanctum. $BNSOL, $bbSOL, $BGSOL - catch 'em all, I guess? This could be a big deal for Solana's DeFi scene.
Solana Categories The Last Week
Solana DeFi
Solana DeFi continues to slide in terms of TVL over the last 7 days, but remains up over the last month, with Jito, Kamino, Jupiter and Marinade all over $1 billion in value locked each. Liquid staking protocol BlazeStake boots Meteora out of the top 10.
Source: DeFiLlama
Solana Meme Coins
Top 10 Meme Coins’ 7-day performance
Source: Forbes
It’s been another bloody, bloody week for the biggest Solana-based meme tokens, with Popcat and Mumu respectively shedding 23% and 35% of their value.
The 5 biggest Solana meme coins remain unchanged. New arrivals Fwog and Monkey Pox crack the top 10, with POX superspreading a crazy 13x on a 7-day investment.
Solana DePIN
Following the Nvidia earnings results last week, top Solana DePin/AI projects Render (-15%) and Nosana (-2%), crypto AI protocols tanked after the sell the news event. With the DoJ’s subpoena against Nvidia this week, the crypto AI sector could be in for a rough ride until more clarity is given.
DePin communication protocol Helium is up 7% for the week, as Solana Breakpoint is only weeks away and big announcements loom.
NFTs
NFTPulse data shows that Solana remains the leader in most NFT categories, however, it still substantially trails Ethereum and Polygon in weekly chain volume.
What You Can Do Now
- Check out Drift's platform if you're feeling lucky (or like a psychic).
- Do your homework on Marinade's new staking marketplace.
- Keep an eye on the upcoming Liquid Staking Tokens from major exchanges like Binance, Bybit, and BitGet, and evaluate their potential impact on your DeFi activities.
- Stay on top of Solana's DePIN and AI projects. This Nvidia thing could have ripple effects. Know that these sectors will be top of the agenda in Singapore this month.
- Check out Solana Breakpoint’s speakers and what they might be talking about.
