With Solana's Market Cap Surpassing USDC, Has It Become A "Unique" Presence?

2023-11-17, 02:38

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![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/1690791857hotspot.jpeg)
## Introduction
Since the repeated bombings of FTX thunderstorms and hacker attacks last year, <a href="/uk/price/solana-sol" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Solana</a> has lost many users and the price of SOL has also plummeted, almost becoming the "biggest loser" in 2022.

However, by the end of 2023, with the help of BTC rising again and the overall market recovering, the price of SOL has jumped several times, even showing a peak of 150% increase in a month. This is an achievement that is difficult to imagine as a large token that has already been finalized.

How can SOLANA achieve "Nirvana" in one year? What is supporting it behind this? Can this warm breeze continue to blow?
![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/170018855415001700188281_.pic.jpg)
Source: tradingview

## The Source of SOLANA's Resilience: Unremitting Technological Breakthroughs and A Vibrant Community
From the price trend, the SOL price has not experienced a correction and has been rising since breaking the key support level of $27. It has now exceeded $65, with a total market value exceeding USDC.

SOLANA was once known as the "<a href="/uk/price/ethereum-eth" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Ethereum</a> Killer," and through its unique POH proof, it promotes efficient collaborative work by serializing blockchain time. TOWER BFT's consensus algorithm achieves high throughput, low latency, and ultimate optimization of single shards, which makes Solana stand out in terms of "value in use." At one point, the pioneer of layer1 application construction and the dominant Ethereum can only share the advantages equally.

The characteristics of high speed and low latency bring a good development and usage environment, making it easier to attract users from all levels to participate in the ecosystem. The NFT and game projects on Solana also have more mature application scenarios as a result.
![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/170018858715011700188298_.pic.jpg)
Source: Solana.com

Of course, Solana also has a significant problem with its lack of stability, especially in 2022 when it was always "down." However, developers are actively solving this problem by applying QUIC, Stack weighted QoS, and the network upgrade of the localized charging market. This year, Solana's stability has also been greatly improved, which has invisibly convinced many observers of Solana's long-term value and sustainability.

The news release at this month's Breakpoint conference also gave an exciting result, with Firedancer as the new generation node validation client. As Solana's second client, it can reduce the single-point risk caused by a single client, improve the diversity of node clients, and enhance the stability of the public chain.

The development team claims to be able to increase Solana's throughput by 10-100 times, and Solana, already known as the “fastest blockchain network,” can fully leverage its advantages. The increase in throughput is the foundation of ecosystem scalability, giving more users, developers, and project parties reasons to participate in the construction.
![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/170018861215021700188312_.pic_hd.jpg)
Source: Unsplash

In terms of the community, Solana has over 2000 validator nodes, which are run by community members. Solana's community discussions always show a prosperous trend, and members feel excellent network and application experiences, as well as an orderly and stable community ecosystem.

Along with a large number of users participating in the construction, there are also numerous technical experts supporting Solana. The team's emphasis on community culture has also contributed to a vibrant environment. Even after the FTX thunderstorm, there was still a peak in Solana transactions from May to June of 2023, with over 2,000 active developers per month.

In a sense, developers and users who participate in the Solana ecosystem have formed a sense of value recognition for it, which is indeed based on "technological strength" and the power brought by the "community culture" generated.

## The Generous Support of Numerous Giants
Looking back, Solana undoubtedly received numerous "celebrity" recommendations from web3 and even web2, affirming its vision and making optimistic speculations about its future.

Around September, payment giant Visa announced the expansion of the USDC stablecoin settlement function to the Solana blockchain. E-commerce giant Shopify has also announced integration with Solana Pay, allowing its platform users to make payments using USDC.
![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/170018863915031700188325_.pic.jpg)
Source: Unsplash

On November 16th, Cathie Wood, the CEO of ARK Invest, a well-known figure in both traditional investors and crypto space, praised Solana's efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Cathy Wood bluntly said, "Previously, Ethereum was faster and cheaper than <a href="/uk/price/bitcoin-btc" target="_blank" class="blog_inner_link">Bitcoin</a>, so we chose Ethereum. Solana was faster and more cost-effective than Ethereum.”

As soon as this statement is made, it will directly lead to another rapid rise in SOL, which has been continuously rising for a month. However, blindly following is not advisable at any time. We also hope that everyone will carefully consider their asset ratios.

The scalability and speed issues caused by decentralization in web3 networks have always been a headache, and many web2 practitioners are inevitably frowning at the lack of performance in web3 networks. In this case, high speed, high throughput, and low latency have become the hallmarks of Solana, and the stability issues that were previously addressed have also been significantly improved, indicating their intention to delve deeper into this path of "optimizing efficiency and experience."

## Potential Risk: It's Easy to Be Optimistic, But Investment Still Needs Caution
Although Solana's efforts in technological advancement and ecosystem maintenance are evident and commendable, its risks also need to be objectively viewed.

Kaiko, a cryptocurrency analysis platform, expressed concerns about the liquidity calculations derived from Solana's "US dollar calculations" and "native unit calculations." Simply put, the liquidity calculated in units of native token SOL is very pessimistic.
![](https://gimg2.gateimg.com/image/article/170018867115041700188340_.pic.jpg)
Source: Kaiko

Meanwhile, on November 2nd, the founder of FTX was found guilty of all charges, including seven counts of fraud and conspiracy. Although FTX chose to pledge SOL 5.5 million when it was adjudged bankrupt in September, alleviating many users' selling anxiety, a series of FTX events have yet to have a definitive result.

In the aftermath, Solana, which has received much support from FTX, always seems to have difficulty escaping its shadow. In the current situation where “post-disaster reconstruction” is not completed, it is also difficult to assert that “there are no hidden dangers.”

The competition with Ethereum is still ongoing, and although Solana has not fallen behind for the time being after the continuous deployment of Layer2 projects, it has not yet reached the point where she can boast. Just like in October, Lido Finance announced the cessation of operations in Solana on the grounds of unsustainability and low fees, you cannot keep everyone.

<div class="blog-details-info">
<div>Author:**Sherry S.**, Gate.io Researcher
<div>Translator:Joy Z.
<div class="info-tips">\*This article represents only the views of the researcher and does not constitute any investment suggestions.
<div>\*Gate.io reserves all rights to this article. Reposting of the article will be permitted provided Gate.io is referenced. In all cases, legal action will be taken due to copyright infringement.
</div>

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