In a comeback story throughout the ages, Solana It rose from the depths of the crypto winter of 2022 into the spotlight this year, becoming one of the most widely used blockchains for crypto enthusiasts and retail newbies alike.

“Glass-chewing is part of our DNA, and we will get through this together.” Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko to publish on Twitter (aka X) during the winter of 2022.

Two years later, amid rising risk appetite and meme mania, in 2024 Solana saw massive user growth.

Blockchain technology is poised to shake up old narratives about its frequent outages and technical shortcomings, with imminent technology unlocks like software client Firedancer just around the corner.

With the price of its native token - SOL - rising by almost 200% in the past year, Solana is now the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, with improved regulatory clarity and transparency. ETF speculation Solana fans hope to achieve more in the near future.

Before that, let's revisit Solana's year in 2024.

Solana regains its balance and breaks its all-time high

Once trading at just $8 after the FTX crash in late 2022, Solana has made an extraordinary comeback, gaining more than 275% this year and briefly hitting a new high. Highest level ever.

Dismissed by some as a victim of the crypto winter, Solana's revival shows the resilience of its ecosystem, which co-founded rival Tier 1. EthereumVitalik Buterin, He cheered once.

Data collected from last year by Syncracy reveals this Solana has surpassed Ethereumthe second largest cryptocurrency asset, in key metrics such as real economic value, active addresses and decentralized exchange volume, although its market capitalization is still a small fraction of that of Ethereum.

While its price is down 17% from its all-time high on November 23 of $263, the potential for Solana ETFs is growing, potentially leading to the status of the network's native token. Greater adoption Through traditional financial means.

Super cycle coin meme?

Meme coinsThe token known for its ties to internet memes and pop culture events saw an unprecedented rise in Solana in 2024, riding a wave of cultural significance and rampant speculation.

While meme coins are not a new phenomenon, tokens like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) are now top 15 tokens by market cap and favorites in the previous cycle. The massive proliferation of new tokens on Solana led to what some have called a “meme coin supercycle.”

Cycle trigger? platforms like pump. funa meme coin launcher that has democratized token creation, allowing any user to create a new token with just a few clicks.

This accessibility fueled the creation of more than 4 million tokens Since the launch of the platform in January 2024.

While most of them hold no value now, some have led traders to significant heights Gains It became prominent enough to trade among the top 100 coins by market capitalization.

Solana saga

Solana Saga, Solana's first smartphone, was initially launched to dampen enthusiasm among die-hard Solana community members but saw a resurgence in late 2023.

A last-minute frenzy ensued as users demanded secure airdrops tied to the phone's token, ultimately leading to the Saga sale.

Based on this momentum, Solana presented a second edition, which is... researcherin 2024. Seeker offers phone buyers a cheaper alternative to the Saga, but with upgraded hardware.

Seeker is scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2025, and has already registered more than 140,000 pre-orders and more than $65 million in hardware.

Solana's real-world connections go beyond smartphones, extending to handheld gaming consoles and a large number of decentralized infrastructure (DePIN) projects.

These projects are trying to reinvent real-world infrastructure using decentralized networks and blockchain technology, which is a possibility Revolutionary transformation According to some advocates.

Take for example, Helium, a decentralized mobile network, and Teleport, a ride-sharing platform leveraging Solana technology, have seen significant growth in 2024. Helium's Mobile Token (MOBILE) is up more than 300% year-to-date This confirms the momentum in the sector.

Technical improvements are coming

Solana's artistic backbone has wavered at times The blockchain has had problems with downtime And interruptions in the past. However, improvements to its infrastructure are quickly approaching, most notably with the release of Solana Firedancer.

Firedancer, led by cryptocurrency investment firm and infrastructure developer Jump Crypto, was the highlight of Solana's recent Breakpoint conference in Singapore.

The innovative validation software is designed to optimize hardware utilization and eliminate software inefficiencies, paving the way for improved Solana network performance.

An early prototype of Firedancer — Freakdancer — launched on the Solana mainnet in September. So far, no outages have been reported at that time, according to anyone Runtime page.

Institutions believe Solana has matured

Active crypto participants have flocked to Solana in droves this year, but global institutions are lurking too, including Van Eyck. After only one year of visa Detailed analysis Due to Solana's scalability, low-cost structure, and convenience for payments, other financial giants have joined the Solana ecosystem.

PayPal made headlines in early 2024 by enabling its stablecoin PYUSD on Solana, underscoring the potential of blockchain as the backbone of digital payments and confirming that PYUSD on Solana is open. “Big benefits for commercial use cases."

Major financial players aim to bring blockchain-native tokens to the same major investment channels as Bitcoin and Ethereum continue to provide broader access to major financial participants.

Modified by Sebastian Sinclair