Meme Coin Craze Catapults Solana to Fifth-Largest Crypto, Toppling XRP

• Solana Surpasses XRP as Fifth-Largest Cryptocurrency
• SOL's Growth Amid Pressure
• Boost in Total Value Locked (TVL) on Solana
• Increased Activity in Solana's Decentralized Exchanges
• Role of Meme Coins and Solana
• Recent Focus on Solana
• Current SOL Trading Statistics

Solana Surpasses XRP as Fifth-Largest Cryptocurrency

Solana$104 5.03% (SOL), according to CoinMarketCap, now stands as the fifth-largest cryptocurrency, surpassing XRP$0.620 -1.68%. The market cap of Solana has reached a 20-month peak of $33.7 billion.

SOL's Growth Amid Pressure

Despite the selling pressure arising from the FTX$3.28 -5.38% bankruptcy estate's holdings, Solana has demonstrated substantial growth. This growth has been catalyzed by the burgeoning decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem and the popularity of meme coins.

Boost in Total Value Locked (TVL) on Solana

This week marks the first time since FTX's collapse in November of the previous year that the total value locked (TVL) on Solana exceeded $1 billion. This surge has been triggered by increasing asset prices and consistent inflows into DeFi protocols.

Increased Activity in Solana's Decentralized Exchanges

Decentralized exchanges on Solana have reported a rise in trading volume. Notably, Orca facilitated a trading volume of $746 million on December 15, a massive increase from the once-surpassed $100 million mark set before November. A significant portion of this heightened activity can be credited to meme coins such as Bonk, a dog-themed token that now boasts a market cap exceeding $1.2 billion.

Role of Meme Coins and Solana

As investors scramble to identify the next lucrative meme coin, Solana often acts as the initial purchase. Traders typically buy Solana as the base asset before converting it into their preferred meme coin. Moreover, every sale of the meme coin back into Solana effectively triggers a wave of buying pressure.

Recent Focus on Solana

Solana has been a focal point of recent attention, with improvements noted in its network stability after a string of outages last year. Furthermore, Solana has successfully distanced itself from FTX following the exchange's collapse, which had purchased $1 billion worth of Solana-based tokens before declaring bankruptcy.

Current SOL Trading Statistics

At present, SOL is trading at $81.04, witnessing a 9.14% increase over the past 24 hours. CoinMarketCap reports a 39% rise in trading volume to $2.6 billion.

Edited by Jonathan Stoker