Solana Turns Five: From a Rocky Start to a Key Player

Layer-1 blockchain Solana is marking its fifth anniversary since its mainnet launch in March 2020, solidifying itself as a cornerstone of the crypto industry. Despite facing turbulence—including market crashes, high-profile collapses, and network outages—Solana has emerged as one of the busiest chains in terms of transaction volume and decentralized finance (DeFi) activity.

Since its inception, Solana has processed over 408 billion transactions and facilitated nearly $1 trillion in value on decentralized exchanges (DEXs). While the network debuted amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it quickly found backing from major venture capital firms and positioned itself as a serious challenger to Ethereum.

From FTX Fallout to a Stunning Comeback

The 2022 bear market was particularly brutal for SOL, with the collapse of FTX sending its price plummeting by 96%, wiping out billions in market value. The now-defunct exchange had invested heavily in Solana, holding 58 million SOL tokens—a stake that became a liability as FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. By late 2022, SOL had crashed to just $8.30 per token.

However, Solana staged a remarkable recovery in 2023 and 2024, fueled in part by the memecoin frenzy. The emergence of Solana-native tokens like Bonk, Dogwifhat (WIF), and Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) attracted a new wave of traders, propelling Solana’s market cap back above $140 billion by early 2025. The trend was further amplified by Pump.fun, a Solana-based memecoin launchpad, which generated over $540 million in revenue within a year.

Adding to the momentum was Donald Trump’s involvement in crypto, as his campaign launched the TRUMP memecoin on SOL blockchain in early 2024. The token skyrocketed to a $14.6 billion valuation within two days, briefly making Solana the second-largest DeFi ecosystem after Ethereum.

What’s Ahead for Solana?

Beyond DeFi and memecoins, Solana has been pushing into hardware innovation with its Solana Saga and Seeker smartphones—designed for seamless crypto trading and Web3 integration. While initial sales were slow, a 30 million BONK airdrop dramatically boosted demand, leading to over 140,000 presales for the devices.

Most notably, SOL is set to be included in Donald Trump’s Digital Asset Stockpile, according to a March 7 executive order. Though the U.S. government does not currently hold SOL, an audit of its crypto holdings is underway.

Currently trading at $128.17, SOL ranks as the sixth-largest cryptocurrency with a $64.5 billion market cap.

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