Research Summary
The report provides a comprehensive analysis of Solana’s performance and ecosystem, including its daily active users, transaction counts, fees, total value locked, stablecoin volumes, developer activity, and NFT market. It also covers the performance of various protocols, platforms, and applications built on Solana, such as Magic Eden, Tensor, Access Protocol, Genopets, Star Atlas, Marinade Finance, JitoSOL, MarginFi, Drift Protocol, Zeta Markets, Phoenix, SolBlaze, Solflare, Backpack, Squads, Light Protocol, and Coinflow Labs.
Key Takeaways
Solana’s Performance and Ecosystem
- Decline in DAUs and Transactions: Solana’s daily active users averaged around 190k in September 2023, down from a peak of around 347k DAUs in Q1 2023. Transaction counts have also decreased from a peak of around 26 million in April 2023 to around 15.4 million in September 2023.
- Stable Fees and TVL: Despite the decline in DAUs and transactions, average monthly fees on Solana have remained consistent throughout the year, ranging from around $1.0 million in June to around $1.4 million in August. Solana has seen a rebound in total value locked (TVL) in Q3 2023, reaching around $335 million in September 2023, up from lows of around $210 million in Q1 2023.
- Stablecoin Volumes and Developer Activity: Stablecoin volumes on Solana have remained consistent at around $1.5 billion. However, Solana has experienced a decline in developer activity, with around 160 core developers active in the past week compared to around 540 at the beginning of the year.
- NFT Market: The Solana NFT market has stabilized at around $4 million in weekly trading volume and 28k users per week. Solana now makes up 8% of weekly NFT trading volume compared to Ethereum’s 92%. NFT minting volume on Solana has increased by 1600% year-to-date, with approximately 4 million mints per week.
- MEV Transactions: Solana’s MEV (Miner Extractable Value) transactions have totaled around 1.34 billion over the past year, with a success rate of 3.35%. The top 10 signers accounted for around 50.16% of total successful MEV transactions on Solana.
Performance of Protocols, Platforms, and Applications on Solana
- Magic Eden and Tensor: Magic Eden and Tensor are the two dominant NFT marketplaces on Solana, each holding roughly 50% market share. Tensor has captured 40% of the Solana NFT market share, surpassing Magic Eden. Compressed NFTs (cNFTs) have gained traction on the Tensor platform, accounting for 20-65% of total sales.
- Access Protocol: Access Protocol offers a new way for creators to monetize and connect with their audiences on-chain, with 227,073 active subscribers. Access Protocol has onboarded 36 new creators in the last 8 months, ramping up creator onboarding significantly.
- Genopets and Star Atlas: Genopets is a top 3 contract on Solana by daily active users, with players minting over 2 million assets in the on-chain crafting game. Star Atlas’ Sage Labs has attracted strong user interest, with 10.31 million transactions since its launch.
- Marinade Finance: Marinade Finance’s new Native staking product has surpassed 2 million SOL stake in under 60 days and approaches 8 million SOL TVL. mSOL is the first liquid staking token on Solana and has surpassed 75,000 wallets, representing 5.5M SOL staked.
- JitoSOL and MarginFi: JitoSOL TVL grew +75% in the last month, crossing 55M USD, making it the second-largest protocol on Solana by TVL. MarginFi achieved 640%+ growth, surpassing $24M TVL in just three months, making it the second top lending protocol on Solana by TVL.
Actionable Insights
- Investigate the Potential of Solana’s NFT Market: Despite the decline in DAUs and transactions, Solana’s NFT market has shown significant growth, with a 1600% increase in minting volume year-to-date. This suggests that there is potential for further growth and development in this area.
- Explore Opportunities in Solana’s Stablecoin Market: The consistent volume of stablecoins on Solana indicates that users feel comfortable holding stablecoins on the network for future use in applications and NFTs. This could present opportunities for businesses and developers to create new applications and services that leverage these stablecoins.
- Consider the Impact of Developer Activity on Solana’s Ecosystem: The decline in developer activity on Solana could have implications for the growth and development of the network’s ecosystem. Businesses and developers should monitor this trend and consider its potential impact on their operations and strategies.
- Assess the Performance of Protocols, Platforms, and Applications on Solana: The report provides detailed insights into the performance of various protocols, platforms, and applications built on Solana. Businesses and developers should assess these insights to identify potential opportunities and challenges in the Solana ecosystem.
- Monitor the Growth of MEV Transactions on Solana: The growth of MEV transactions on Solana could have implications for the network’s security and the profitability of mining. Businesses and developers should monitor this trend and consider its potential impact on their operations and strategies.
