Solana Achieves New Milestone Thanks to Memecoin Frenzy

According to data from DefiLlama, 6 out of the 11 highest fee-generating protocols are on Solana. Specifically:

Raydium DEX set a record with $11.79 million in trading fees (November 17).
Solana network reached $8.06 million in transaction fees.
The staking protocol Jito generated $9.87 million, the third-highest in its history.
Memecoin trading bot Photon recorded $2.36 million in fees.
BonkBot also generated $0.71 million in transaction fees.
The memecoin creation platform Pump.fun earned $1.65 million.

This impressive performance comes as Solana’s native token, SOL, soared to $242—its highest price since November 2021—fueled by a boom in memecoins on the platform.

Among the highlights is Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT), a memecoin inspired by the image of a squirrel. It skyrocketed over 2,700% in two weeks, reaching a market cap of $2.4 billion as of November 14. PNUT’s rally gained further momentum after Elon Musk tweeted about the name “Peanut” and the launch of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under President-elect Donald Trump.

Another notable memecoin is Dogwifhat (WIF), which was listed on Coinbase on November 15. It immediately hit a six-month high of $4.8. At the same time, Dogecoin (DOGE) recorded an impressive 140% gain over the past two weeks.

SOL’s Sustainable Growth

Currently, SOL is trading around $242, just 7% shy of its all-time high of $259. Notably, Solana’s market capitalization has reached $114 billion, a 44% increase from $77 billion in November 2021. This growth underscores the ecosystem’s strength, despite its token supply continuing to expand as part of its inflationary reward mechanism for stakers.

According to data from SolanaCompass, Solana’s current inflation rate is 4.9% and is projected to decrease by 15% annually, highlighting the platform’s sustainable development strategy.