Solana (SOL) Reaches $159 After Surging 13%

SOL, the native token of the fifth-biggest blockchain, Solana, has gained over 13% this week, becoming one of the top performers.

Solana (SOL) price soared by 13% this week, emerging as one of the top gainers among major cryptocurrencies. Notably, a recent surge in demand for meme coins on the Solana network has contributed significantly to this rally.

According to on-chain data, the total value locked (TVL) on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) within the Solana ecosystem has surged this year, largely driven by meme coin trading activity. This enthusiasm is also boosting Solana's trading volumes on DEXs.

While some analysts are skeptical about whether the hype around Solana's meme coin scene will be sufficient to propel SOL price further, others remain optimistic, predicting that the token will rally and trade above $180 by month's end.

Solana Meme Coins Boosting Sol Demand

Many traders with large X (formerly Twitter) accounts have shifted their focus to the Solana meme coin ecosystem, encouraging their followers to invest in their recommended tokens, according to crypto analysts from Cointelegraph.

Several meme coins have attracted strong investor attention on Solana this week. For example, The Goatseus Maximus (GOAT) token saw its market valuation touch $400 million on Wednesday after an X-powered AI bot hyped it up. Created on PumpFun — a top decentralized application that enables users to launch tokens without providing initial liquidity — GOAT price surged by 606% over the last seven days, according to CoinGecko data.

Other Solana meme coins that rallied significantly this week, increasing demand for SOL, include Apu Apustaja (APU) token, which is up 169%; FWOG, which recorded 7-day gains of 135%; SPX, which rallied 378%; and TRUMP, which surged 95%.

Solana Network Activity Supports Higher Sol Price - Analysts

Meme coin trading activity on Solana has boosted the network's TVL, which essentially refers to the total amount of funds that have been deposited into various Solana-based smart contracts.

On a year-to-date basis, over 40 million SOL tokens have been locked on the Solana blockchain, according to data from DefiLlama. In comparison, users on BNB Chain locked only 7.8 million BNB tokens, while those on Ethereum deposited 17.6 million ETH this year.

Among DEXs, Raydium enjoys the largest share (68%) of Solana's TVL, as per DefiLlama's data. As Solana's TVL continues to grow, CoinTelegraph analysts expect demand for SOL to surge, pushing the coin to $180.