7VFI.AI Alpha Report: Solana Network Overview

Alex Nascimento
5 min readFeb 27, 2024

--

Greetings Crypto Enthusiasts,

In this edition, we delve into the Solana ecosystem, which has recently been at the forefront of exciting developments. Let’s unpack the recent happenings and identify the opportunities that lie within.

Solana stands out for its low transaction fees, user-friendly experience, and secure, swift network. It has significantly improved its system robustness since 2023, with further enhancements, such as the Firedancer update. Besides that, the introduction of token extensions in Solana’s SPL (Solana Programming Library) allows projects to create customizable assets with various properties, making it an attractive option for businesses and individuals exploring blockchain technology.

Solana is not merely a blockchain but a catalyst for transformative change. As major institutions like JP Morgan, BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Visa, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) delve into tokenization pilots, Solana emerges as a preferred platform for its robust infrastructure and scalability. BCG’s projection of illiquid asset tokenization reaching $16 trillion by 2030 underscores the urgent need for standardized, secure tokenization protocols.

Solana’s Token Extensions, introduced as a significant milestone in this journey, offer a suite of advanced features that go beyond the basic functionalities of the SPL Token program. Token extensions are a set of new features integrated into Solana’s blockchain protocol, enhancing its capabilities for token issuance and management, particularly catering to enterprise needs and regulatory requirements. These extensions, ranging from Confidential Transfers to Transfer Hooks, Transfer Fees, Metadata, Non-transferable Tokens, and Interest-earning Tokens, empower developers to innovate securely in compliance with regulatory standards.

The adoption of Token Extensions follows a top-down approach, ensuring uniformity and standardization across the Solana ecosystem, unlike the fragmented landscape witnessed in other blockchain networks. With Solana’s commitment to continuous improvement and expansion of Token Extensions based on community feedback and institutional requirements, the platform solidifies its position as a pioneer in the tokenization revolution.

In conjunction with Solana’s rise, an ecosystem of enablers and adopters has flourished around Token Extensions, driving innovation across diverse sectors. Enablers like Fluxbeam (the first decentralized exchange on Solana), Raydium (an automated market maker and liquidity provider built for the Serum decentralized exchange), and Helius (Solana’s RPC Nodes, APIs, Webhooks, and Developer Tooling) provide essential infrastructure and tools for token creation, trading, and exploration, while explorers such as SolanaFM and XRay offer transparency and visibility into token extensions. Meanwhile, early adopters like memecoins and gaming projects showcase the versatility and creativity enabled by Token Extensions, leveraging features like transfer fees, metadata, and non-transferable tokens to create engaging experiences. Stablecoin issuers like GMO and Paxos further validate the practical applications of Token Extensions in regulated financial environments, paving the way for broader adoption and integration into mainstream finance.

The Solana network has been making headlines with a significant leap in SOL’s price, which skyrocketed over 60% in a week to reach $118, marking an 18-month peak. This surge is attributed to the rising gas fees on Ethereum, leading many to explore Solana’s cost-effective alternative. The network’s active addresses have seen a remarkable 400% increase in the last quarter, signaling a growing traction and interest in Solana.

Two significant developments have recently transformed the Solana landscape. Firstly, the Jupiter exchange, a decentralized platform on the Solana blockchain, experienced an exceptional surge in trading volume, exceeding $480 million within a 24-hour period. This achievement was measured against Ethereum’s Uniswap, indicating a notable milestone in the platform’s growth.

The unprecedented trading activity on Jupiter was primarily fueled by the excitement surrounding the launch of a new memecoin called WEN, alongside active trading of stablecoins. Notably, over $50 million of the daily trading volume on Jupiter was attributed to WEN transactions. Secondly, the introduction of WEN memecoin by Jupiter’s developers has generated significant interest within the community. This interest is further amplified by the anticipation of the JUP token airdrop, scheduled to coincide with the launch of the native exchange token, JUP, on January 31st.

The relevance of the WEN/JUP airdrop lies in its community impact and its role as a precursor to the highly awaited JUP token release. This event has sparked market enthusiasm, with JUP tokens trading at approximately $0.61 in the pre-market, potentially valuing the airdrop at over $600 million based on the planned distribution of 1 billion tokens. This surge in airdrop activities reflects a broader trend in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, with various projects announcing significant token distributions to their users.

Amidst these developments, Solana faced a network outage lasting over 5 hours on February 6th, disrupting user access and transactions. Despite this, SOL’s price dipped only ~3%, swiftly recovering and rising to over $100 shortly after. While this was the first interruption since February 2023, Solana’s network has faced criticism for such outages. Validators had to promptly update nodes and reach a consensus on restarting the network, discussions occurring on Discord, highlighting challenges in achieving on-chain consensus. However, investor confidence remained high, with recent positive catalysts such as SOL’s Token Extension upgrade and the growing DePIN ecosystem overshadowing concerns over network centralization.

Connecting the dots, the soaring SOL prices, the expanding active user base, and the impactful events on the Jupiter exchange suggest potential alpha opportunities within the ecosystem. The logical equation of what happened coupled with market insights points towards the conclusion that Solana’s rising interest could be a goldmine for those seeking alpha.

The enthusiasm surrounding the WEN memecoin and the upcoming JUP token launch illustrates the potential for lucrative paths within the Solana ecosystem due to several factors. Firstly, the significant surge in trading volume on the Jupiter exchange, driven in part by the excitement over WEN, suggests a high level of interest and engagement within the community. Secondly, the anticipation of the JUP token launch, coupled with its airdrop, indicates strong market demand and potential for value appreciation. Additionally, the broader context of rising SOL prices and an expanding active user base further strengthens the outlook for potential alpha opportunities within the ecosystem. The active community engagement and emerging projects within the Solana network underscore its potential for growth in 2024 and beyond.

In this landscape of a possible bull run, 7VFI.AI positions itself as a pioneering project, offering a unified platform for real-time data gathering & processing across various Crypto & Web3 verticals, including but not limited to DeFi, CeFi, RWA, GameFi, Metaverse, and NFT among other ecosystems. Our first product, the Rank Select tool, powered by AI algorithms, revolutionizes project and protocol data gathering, ensuring precision and reliability, so end-users, investors, and developers can streamline the “Do Your Own Research” (DYOR) process across all verticals in the Crypto & Web3 space.

Stay tuned for more updates, and visit https://7vfi.ai to explore the latest in Solana and other blockchain innovations.

Join our community on Telegram: https://t.me/AI7VFI

Connect with us on Discord: https://discord.gg/sa8c8tHHfx

Stay updated by following us on Medium and LinkedIn:

https://7vfi.medium.com

https://linkedin.com/company/7vfi-ai/

Embark on an exciting journey of innovation with Solana’s renowned hackathons, set to kick off on 04/03. Unleash your potential, compete with top builders worldwide, and bring your ideas to life. Explore more at https://solana.com/hackathon.

Any content provided by 7VFI.AI or displayed here should not be interpreted as financial advice and is meant for discussion purposes only — #DYOR

#WAGMI

--

--

Alex Nascimento
Alex Nascimento

Written by Alex Nascimento

Co-founder UCLA BLOCKCHAIN LAB & BLOCKCHAIN @ UCLA — Security Token Offering & Blockchain Faculty

No responses yet