Solana strengthens its position: key developments in 2024
Strengthening institutional involvement
At the Breakpoint 2024 conference in October, plans were announced for financial giants such as Franklin Templeton, Securitize, and Société Générale to launch their Solana-based projects:
- Franklin Templeton, one of the world's leading funds of asset managers, has announced plans to launch a mutual fund on the Solana platform. The fund targets institutional and retail investors, giving them access to tokenized financial products.
- Securitize, a leading asset tokenization platform, has announced plans to integrate with the Solana blockchain. This will allow the company to offer its customers tokenization of various assets, including real estate, securities, and other financial instruments, using the advantages of the Solana network, such as high transaction speeds and low fees.
- Société Générale, one of France's largest banks, announced the launch of the EuroCV stablecoin on the Solana blockchain. EuroCV is compliant with the European MiCA regulation, making it the first stablecoin issued by a bank on Solana and compliant with the new regulatory requirements.
These initiatives demonstrate the growing confidence of large financial institutions in Solana and its potential for adoption in traditional monetary systems.
Mobile application development
The Solana team is actively involved in the development of mobile solutions. Mobile versions of popular applications such as Jupiter, DRiP, and PhotoFinish LIVE were presented at Breakpoint.
Jupiter Mobile offers users a user-friendly token exchange interface with Apple Pay and Google Pay support, simplifying buying and selling cryptocurrencies.
DRiP Mobile provides a seamless NFT interaction experience, and PhotoFinish LIVE was the first game on the App Store to offer real betting on virtual horse races.
Payment ecosystem expansion
Solana's payment ecosystem continues to expand. The launch of cross-border payment apps such as Sling and the introduction of a new stablecoin, Sky's USDS, in addition to the Pax Dollar (USDP), Euro Coin (EURC), and Ethena USDe (USDe) already launched on Solana are contributing to Solana's increasing use of crypto payments.
In addition, Sanctum introduced the first debit card on the Solana blockchain, the Cloud Card, in October 2024. This card enhances using SOL and stablecoins by enabling users to make everyday cryptocurrency purchases. The Cloud Card integrates with the Solana ecosystem to provide fast and low-cost transactions, making cryptocurrency payments more accessible to a broader audience.
Decentralized energy and DePIN
The decentralized energy (DePIN) sector is also seeing a growing interest in Solana. Project Zero, an innovative initiative to create a decentralized renewable energy network operating on the Solana blockchain, was presented at the Breakpoint conference.
The main goal of Project Zero is to incentivize the installation of distributed renewable energy sources and change electricity consumption patterns. To do this, the project uses tokenization, allowing users to receive rewards for reducing energy consumption during periods of peak demand. In this way, consumers become a kind of "mini energy traders" actively involved in energy management.
In addition, Australian technology company Powerledger, which specializes in developing software solutions for tracking, metering, and trading renewable energy, has announced plans to migrate to Solana, underscoring the potential of blockchain in the energy sector.
These projects could help develop sustainable energy solutions and expand the use of blockchain technology in the real economy.
Decline in network activity and market share growth
The Solana network experienced a marked decline in activity in 2024, which affected various metrics, including the number of transactions, active addresses, and commission revenue. Key factors contributing to this decline include:
- Decreased interest in memcoins and NFT: In August 2024, there was a waning user interest in memcoins built on the Solana blockchain. The five most popular tokens in this category — dogwifhat, Bonk, Popcat, BOOK OF MEME and cat in a dogs world — lost between 14% and 34% of their value over the month, indicating a decline in speculative interest in these assets. Analysts also note a drop in interest in NFT on the Solana platform, which leads to a decrease in revenues for network developers and may have long-term consequences for the project's development.
- Network failures and congestion: In February 2024, the Solana network experienced another failure caused by congestion on one of the subnets. This led to suspending the processing of new transaction blocks for almost five hours. This was the network's tenth major outage in the last three years. Such incidents undermine user and developer confidence in the platform's reliability, which can lead to decreased activity on the network.
- Overall slowdown in Layer 1 (L1) blockchain sector: Layer 1 blockchain networks, including Solana, Ethereum, and Bitcoin, are facing a general slowdown in on-chain and market activity in 2024. This can be attributed to macroeconomic factors, changes in investor sentiment, and other external circumstances affecting the entire cryptocurrency market.
Despite the overall decline in activity, Solana has increased its market share in the commissions market, reaching 25% in July 2024. Over the past six months, the network generated $260 million in commissions, second only to Ethereum and TRON. The average commission per transaction was $0.02, significantly lower than competitors such as Ethereum ($3.58) and TRON ($0.22). This emphasizes the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the network, making it attractive to users and developers.
Conclusion
Institutional investment, the expansion of the payment ecosystem, and the development of mobile apps provide a solid foundation for continued growth. However, to maintain this momentum, work must improve scalability, security, and user experience to meet growing market demands and remain competitive.