Solana (SOL) Surges Past $150: Pantera Capital Bid and Memecoin Activity Drive Rally

• Solana’s SOL token surged 19.5%, reaching $150, influenced by Pantera Capital’s investment plans.
• The Solana ecosystem’s growth, fueled by memecoins, functional SPL tokens, and DApps activity, showcases its dynamic nature.

Solana’s native token, SOL, has seen an unprecedented surge, climbing 19.5% from March 5 to March 7, reaching a milestone of $150 for the first time since January 2022. This surge was notably influenced by the news of Pantera Capital’s intentions to acquire $250 million worth of SOL tokens from the bankrupt FTX estate, as reported by Bloomberg.

This move has sparked widespread speculation among traders about SOL’s potential to sustain its 47% gains over twelve days and the possibility of the altcoin breaching the $200 mark.

Pantera Capital’s Bold Move

Pantera Capital’s proposal to purchase a substantial amount of SOL tokens, although significant, represents just a fraction of the $5.9 billion in SOL tokens held by the FTX estate, accounting for nearly 10% of the supply. This indicates that the bullish momentum for Solana may not solely rely on this proposal but also other factors contributing to the ecosystem’s vibrancy.

One such contributing factor is the frenzy surrounding Solana SPL memecoins. Collections of tokens inspired by celebrities and creatively named tokens like Jeo Boden, Juses crust, and Spooderman have dominated the scene in terms of volume and performance.

This trend not only entertains but also attracts investors to speculate on newly launched tokens within the Solana network, enhancing the demand for SOL tokens and the utility of its decentralized exchanges (DEX).

Solana DEX Volume is so high that you can barely find where the FTX collapse took place

SOL DeFi is now 13x bigger, where are the bears who said it was dead? pic.twitter.com/zsVXZqQCPN

— Gumshoe (@0xGumshoe) March 7, 2024

Beyond the Hype

The excitement doesn’t stop with memecoins. Other SPL tokens with functional uses or associated applications, such as Jupiter (JUP) and Raydium (RAY), have also seen significant increases.

The anticipation surrounding various airdrops, including Wormhole, Kamino, Parcl, and MarginFi, continues to fuel ongoing demand for SOL tokens, showcasing the diverse and dynamic nature of the Solana ecosystem. To explore more details about this development, you can watch the following YouTube video.

The Heart of Solana Momentum

SOL’s momentum is intricately tied to the activity on the Solana network. Despite potential concerns such as the aftermath of the airdrop and memecoin hype or the restrictions from the FTX bankruptcy estate, the essence of SOL’s performance lies in the continuous surge in volumes and the emergence of new protocols and use cases, as Crypto News Flash had earlier detailed.

The Solana network’s smart contract deposits, measured by the total value locked (TVL), reached a 16-month high on March 6, signifying a robust increase from the previous month.

This surge in deposits for Solana’s decentralized applications (DApps) stems from increases in platforms like Jito, MarginFi, Kamino, BlazeStake, Jupiter, and Drift, further solidifying Solana’s position in the cryptocurrency market.

Source: DappRadar

At the time of writing, the price of SOL has risen 3.72% in the last 24 hours, reaching a price of $145.11. This represents an increase of 9.67% over the past 7 days.