Solana’s native token, SOL, experienced a 22.5% decline between January 6 and January 13, 2025, reaching $169—the lowest in ten weeks. A subsequent 15% recovery by January 15 failed to push SOL above $200, raising concerns among traders about the impact of decreased decentralized application (DApp) activity on Solana’s potential to rebound to $230.
According to DefiLlama data, Solana’s on-chain activity dropped by 10.3% between January 8 and January 15. Notably, the decentralized exchanges Raydium and Orca saw declines of 23.3% and 2%, respectively, while Lifinity and Stabble experienced increases of 27.7% and 29.7%. In contrast, Ethereum’s on-chain volumes rose by 9% during the same period, with Arbitrum’s activity up by 20%, driven by platforms like Curve Finance and Uniswap.
Despite a 5.9% monthly decline in total value locked (TVL), Solana maintains its position as a leading blockchain platform, second only to Ethereum, which saw an 18.1% drop in deposits. The decrease in Solana’s TVL was primarily due to reductions in Jito and Marinade, while Ethereum’s downturn was led by Lido and EigenLayer’s staking solutions. This trend reflects broader market challenges rather than issues specific to Solana.
Investors remain optimistic about SOL’s potential to surpass $230, bolstered by Solana’s competitive advantages and substantial inflows. A quant trader noted that $1.5 billion in USD Coin (USDC) was minted on Solana’s network within 15 days, highlighting the network’s low fees attracting users and institutions. While cross-chain USDC transfers face challenges, Solana’s infrastructure shows promising growth, suggesting that SOL could benefit from a new wave of market entrants.
