Solana Celebrates 5th Birthday With 50% Discount From January Highs

Solana has marked its fifth anniversary but commemorations have been dampened by a weakened market.

Launched on 16 March 2020, Solana currently ranks as the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap. "Happy solana 0 block day to all those who celebrate!" Tweeted Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko.

However, Solana has faced a decline in activity over recent months, with the number of addresses on the network decreasing since its peak in November. The popularity of memecoins was attributed to Solana's success towards the end of last year.

Consequently, reduced popularity of Pump.fun, which had a meteoric rise in 2024, reaching $100 million in cumulative revenue within 217 days, led to Solana's downfall.

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Crypto degens look to profit from the California wildfires as LA burns with bets on Polymarket and memecoins on Pump.fun

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Memecoin-related controversies such as investigations surrounding Argentine President Javier Milei’s alleged involvement in the LIBRA scandal, have also led to the decline in memecoin popularity.

Milei posted on X about $LIBRA, highlighting its potential of “encouraging economic growth by funding small businesses and startups.”

Laad prosecutor Eduardo Taiano is now seeking the freezing of $100 million in assets in relation to the case.

Argentine Prosecutor Applies to Freeze $100M in LIBRA Scandal, Recover Milei’s Tweets

An Argentine prosecutor wants to freeze assets and recover deleted posts linked to President Milei’s LIBRA scandal.

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According to reports, Solana's chain revenue is down over 90% from its January highs, returning to levels not seen since September 2024. Earning an average of just $4 million per week over the last fortnight, its revenue has paled in comparison to its $38.5 million per week in mid January.

Total Value Locked (TVL) on Solana has also shrunk by nearly 50%, from over $12 billion in January to around $6.4 billion today.

Solana Revenue Has Crashed 90% Since January

Solana’s revenue has plunged 90% from January highs as memecoin trading collapses, TVL shrinks 50%, and SOL drops 60% amid market turmoil

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Solana's price has suffered too. Although considerably higher than its $10 price tag following the collapse of FTX, Solana is trading at around $127, which is 50% less than its January highs of $261.

Nonetheless, Solana fan boys are still looking at a potentially rosy 2025 ahead. Solana is preparing for the launch of the Firedancer client by Jump Crypto, a highly anticipated upgrade that aims to enhance the network’s performance and security.

The upgrade is projected to significantly boost Solana’s transaction processing capabilities, helping it move closer to its ambitious goal of supporting 1 million transactions per second.

Over in the institutional world, Solana exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have been all the rage. Just last week, asset management giant Franklin Templeton filed for a Solana ETF with the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) just one day after requesting an XRP ETF.

With over $1.5 trillion in assets under management, the move makes Franklin Templeton the largest asset manager to file for a SOL ETF.

Franklin submitted its 19b-4 filing on March 12, one mont after registering a trust in Delaware to support the potential launch of the Solana ETF.

Franklin Templeton Files For Solana ETF One Day After XRP Filing

Franklin Templeton files for a Solana ETF after an XRP ETF bid, with Bloomberg predicting a 70% chance of SEC approval by Oct 2025

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Grayscale, Bitwise, Canary Capital, and VanEck filed for Solana ETFs last year, with Grayscale submitting theirs at the start of December. Bloomberg's Eric Balchunas believes the odds for a Solana ETF approval is 70% - slightly lower than Litecoin's 90% but higher than XRP's 65%.

Franklin Templeton Joins 21Shares, Bitwise, Canary, VanEck in Solana ETF Race

Franklin Templeton joins the Solana ETF race alongside Grayscale, Bitwise, Canary, and VanEck, while the SEC opens the applications to public comment

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Happy birthday, Solana!

Blockcast

Kathy Zhu has been involved with the crypto industry from both inside and out, from her days as a journalist to her current role as APAC lead at Mezo, an EVM blockchain-based platform that allows users to stake BTC assets to secure itself and serve as Bitcoin's economic layer.

In this episode, Zhu explains the evolving role of Bitcoin and its various stakeholders, including miners, institutional investors, retail holders, and developers. She also highlights how asset management firms and staking protocols have emerged to help Bitcoin holders generate passive income while maintaining custody of their assets.

Blockcast 54 | Mezo APAC Lead Kathy Zhu on the Evolving Role of Bitcoin

From journalist to APAC lead at Mezo, Kathy Zhu shares insights on Bitcoin’s evolving role, Ordinals, and Mezo’s Bitcoin-backed stablecoin, mUSD

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Previous episodes of Blockcast can be found on Podpage, with guests like Samar Sen ( Talos), Jason Choi (Tangent), Lasanka Perera (Independent Reserve), Mark Rydon (Aethir), Peter Hui (Moongate), Luca Prosperi (M^0), Charles Hoskinson (Cardano), Aneirin Flynn (Failsafe), and Yat Siu (Animoca Brands) on our most recent shows.

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