Solana Back To All-Time-Highs As NFT Mania Takes Hold

Key Takeaways

• After an 80% price rise in the last week, Solana's SOL token has become the first major cryptocurrency to reclaim its all-time high after the May crash.
• Sitting currently around $68, SOL has entered the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization (around $18 billion).
• Increased activity on the chain, due to popular NFT drops, are partly behind the dramatic price rise.

Solana is the first of the major cryptocurrencies to recover its all-time high since the May crash. The price of SOL reached $67 following the launch of the NFT project Degenerate Ape Academy.

Solana Season

Those calling for Solana Summer back in May will be happy to see that the last few months were only a delay. The layer 1 blockchain has seen increased usage in recent weeks, and its native token’s value is rising fast, crossing $67 at the time of writing.

SOL price over the last 30 days. Source: CoinGecko

The price rise coincided with the launch of the NFT project Degenerate Ape Academy. Much has been said lately about the NFT mania on Ethereum, but this latest release shows Solana is also interested in building up its own NFT ecosystem. The project showcased 10,000 different cartoon apes, that sold out in under ten minutes.

The cheapest available apes on Solanart, Solana’s OpenSea equivalent, come in at around 13SOL, a little under $1,000. By the Degenerate Ape team’s own admission, the launch went poorly as interest was much higher than expected. The price to mint an ape was 6SOL, meaning those who minted Degenerate Apes have already realized a hefty profit.

Solana is a blockchain that has been gaining much traction in 2021, after starting the year under $2. It offers very quick transaction resolution, low fees, and high throughput at around 50,000 transactions per second. In comparison, Ethereum offers around 30.

As Ethereum NFT drops often see gas fees going through the roof, a blockchain like Solana could prove worthy competition to Ethereum when it comes to NFT drops. The fast transaction speed and low fees make distributing the artwork much easier for the artists and collectors. Its founder, Anatoly Yakovenko, believes the chain will see exponential growth in the next few years.

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