TL;DR
- Solana makes record-breaking strides, with stablecoin transfer volumes exceeding $300 billion in January 2024.
- The remarkable achievement is attributed to significant volumes of USDC transfers and the introduction of Paxos’ new stablecoin, USDP.
Solana Records New High in Stablecoin Transfers
Solana has been turning heads in the cryptocurrency community in recent weeks for the right reasons.
Its network activity and developer retention rates are surging, making the network an emerging hub for stablecoins.
According to Artemis data, stablecoins transfer volume on the network has surpassed the $300 billion mark in Jan 2024.
The record-breaking figure eclipsed the $297 billion Solana stablecoin transfer volume registered in Dec 2023.
Remarkably, January’s $303 billion milestone is a 2,520% increase from its previous record of $11.56 billion stablecoin transfer volume in Jan 2023.
Moreover, its stablecoin market share is making strides, increasing by almost 32% from its previous share of about 1.2% last year.
Stablecoin activity on Solana started looking up in Oct 2023 and has gradually increased by about 650% since then.
The SwissBorg partnership may have prompted these recent activities on the network.
Is Solana the Next Stablecoin Hub?
The network’s remarkable growth is nearly catching up with Ethereum’s 33% market share. Ethereum is still ahead and the industry leader for stablecoin transfer volume.
It registered a staggering $317 billion in transfer volume in January. Tron is trailing far behind as the third largest blockchain for stablecoin, registering transfer volumes of $240 billion.
Notably, blockchain analytics platform Artemis reported that weekly stablecoin volumes have reached a yearly high across all networks.
The remarkable achievement is attributed to the growth of USD Coin transfer volumes on Solana.
Far from that, introducing Paxo’s new stablecoin, USDP, on Solana has also contributed to this growth.
However, the most dominant stablecoin on the network is USDC, registering a market cap of over $1 billion.
Additionally, Solana is also experiencing a massive surge in DeFi activity. This is reflected in its Total Value Locked (TVL), which has reached $1.36 billion.
This has been its highest since Sept 2022, according to the DeFiLama report. In the past year, at least $1.18 trillion in stablecoins was transferred in all blockchains.
Solana’s Price Struggles Below $100
Solana’s record-breaking strides in the stablecoin space cement its increasing prominence in the broader DeFi landscape.
If the network maintains this momentum, it can easily replace Ethereum (ETH) as the number one stablecoin hub.
Meanwhile, the Solana (SOL) price has been down this week. Solana’s native token is struggling to stay above the $100 mark.
It’s down by 2% over the weekend to trade at $93 on Jan 21, 2024. And this is a decline of about 25% from its Dec 2023 high of $123.
Solana prices have decreased by 64% from their all-time high of $260 in Nov 2021. Currently, SOL has a market capitalization of over $40 billion.
Will Solana maintain this momentum and replace Ethereum as a stablecoin hub?
Julia Zakharchuk
Julia is a professional crypto and blockchain writer known for her insightful YouTube channel "MoneyFest." She showcases her dynamic presentation skills as a host and moderator at blockchain conferences. Julia drives also business development at ChainUp and advises UNITBOX, an innovative NFT renting protocol. With her exceptional expertise, Julia is a highly valued industry contributor and is set to make a lasting impact. We at Coinweb are lucky to have her on board.
