Solana-Based Memecoins Surge as SOL Jumps 38% From Monday's Lows

The memecoins on the Solana network rose 30% in the past 24 hours, leading gains as a sector as optimism around SOL ETFs heats up among some.

AccessTimeIconAug 7, 2024 at 8:28 a.m. UTC
Updated Aug 7, 2024 at 8:56 p.m. UTC
  • Cat-themed token POPCAT and dog-themed WIF jumped 25%, while smaller tokens MUMU and CATDOG were up 30%.
  • The surge in Solana-based tokens contrasted with declines in major memecoins on other blockchains.

Memecoins on the Solana ecosystem surged more than 30% in the past 24 hours, leading gains in the crypto market, as the network’s underlying token SOL, recovered from losses from earlier in the week.

Cat-themed popcat (POPCAT) and dog token dogwifhat (WIF) surged as much as 25%, before slightly retreating, while smaller tokens MUMU and catdog (CATDOG) rose 30%, data show. Major memecoins on other blockchains, such as dogecoin (DOGE) and pepe (PEPE), lost as much as 5%, showing a preference for Solana-based tokens.

Solana network volumes more than doubled to over $3.3 billion from Monday’s $1.5 billion, banking in fees of at least $750,000 per day, DefiLlama data shows. Fees generated by Pump, a popular platform used to issue new memecoins on Solana, increased to $535,000 in the past 24 hours compared to under $300,000 on Monday – indicative of higher risk-on activity among traders.

The ecosystem activity came as SOL rose 7.5%, trading over $150 in European morning hours on Wednesday to beat the broad-based CoinDesk 20’s 2.23% rise. It fell from $145 to as low as $112 on Monday amid a broader market rout but has since led gains among major tokens.

Optimism around the ecosystem comes ahead of a widely expected SOL exchange-traded fund (ETF), which could be the third spot token offered to professional U.S.-based investors behind bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH).

“The possibility of an SOL ETF shows promising signs to investors on SOL’s mainstream adoption,” Lucy Hu, senior analyst at Metalpha, told CoinDesk in a Telegram chat. “The quick rebound of SOL indicates renewed confidence in the broader crypto space as the market becomes more stabilized,”

“SOL has shown to be robust with innovations, and meme coins have been rising in popularity,” Hu added.

In early July, the CBOE submitted 19b-4 filings with the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) asking to list VanEck's and 21Shares' potential spot Solana ETFs, which were initially filed in late June.

Edited by Parikshit Mishra.

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

Shaurya Malwa

Shaurya is the Deputy Managing Editor for the Data & Tokens team, focusing on decentralized finance, markets, on-chain data, and governance across all major and minor blockchains.