Solana (SOL) Surges Past Ethereum in Transaction Volume as Network Adds 1.5M Monthly Users

Key Highlights

• SOL rallied 10% over a five-day period, reaching its highest level in three weeks on Friday
• Open interest in futures contracts increased from $3.5B to $4.2B within seven days
• The token has lagged behind the wider cryptocurrency market by 13% year-to-date in 2026
• The Solana network has attracted 1.5 million additional daily active users each month during Q1
• Several Solana-based memecoins surged over 40% from Wednesday through Friday

The price of Solana’s SOL token experienced a 10% increase across a five-day trading window, touching a three-week peak on Friday. This upward momentum followed announcements from the United States and Iran regarding an extended ceasefire agreement, which triggered an 8% decline in Brent crude oil valuations and boosted risk appetite throughout cryptocurrency markets.

Currently, SOL is changing hands in the $84–$85 range, with market participants monitoring whether the psychological $100 threshold represents the next significant price objective.

The aggregate open interest across SOL futures contracts expanded from $3.5 billion last Sunday to $4.2 billion by Friday—representing a 20% increase within a single week. This expansion signals heightened engagement from leveraged market participants spanning both institutional investors and retail traders.

However, despite this upward price action, the annualized funding rate for SOL perpetual futures contracts remains at approximately 3%. This figure falls short of the 5–10% neutral bandwidth, suggesting that bullish traders have yet to demonstrate overwhelming confidence. Nevertheless, it represents a substantial improvement from the extreme pessimism witnessed on April 7, when SOL traded beneath the $80 level.

Throughout 2026, SOL has delivered returns 13% below those of the broader cryptocurrency market. Reduced activity across decentralized applications (DApps) built on the network has contributed to this underperformance.

Weekly revenue generated by DApps on the Solana blockchain currently hovers around $16 million, representing a decline from previous peaks. To provide perspective, Ethereum-based DApps generated $10 million in revenue last week, while BNB Chain DApps produced $4 million—indicating that diminished DApp revenue represents an industry-wide phenomenon rather than a Solana-specific challenge.

Memecoin Trading Volume Accelerates

Numerous memecoins operating on the Solana blockchain recorded gains exceeding 40% during the Wednesday-to-Friday trading window. Historically, increased memecoin trading activity has correlated positively with SOL price appreciation, especially following the early 2025 memecoin boom that positioned Solana as the dominant platform for user engagement after the Official Trump memecoin deployment.

Solana maintains its leadership position in decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volume and currently ranks as the second-largest blockchain by Total Value Locked across all networks.

The Solana blockchain processed approximately 9 billion transactions during the previous month, significantly outpacing Ethereum’s 69 million transactions. Cumulatively, Solana has now settled over 500 billion transactions compared to Ethereum’s 3 billion. Its architectural design prioritizing speed, minimal fees, and high throughput positions it favorably for applications in gaming, trading platforms, and financial service offerings.

Additionally, Solana has established a stablecoin settlement collaboration with Visa, securing its presence within the developing blockchain-based payments sector.

Network User Base Expands Steadily

Throughout the previous quarter, the Solana ecosystem successfully onboarded 1.5 million new daily active users each month. This growth trajectory persisted even as SOL’s market price declined from $293 to approximately $83 during the period of heightened Middle East geopolitical tensions.

Data from prediction markets showed the April 16 price target of $110 trading at 100% YES probability, while the April 30 target of $150 remains active with approximately 15% implied probability. Trading volume within these prediction markets remains limited, meaning the probability estimates could experience rapid shifts following any substantial order flow.

As of Friday’s trading session, SOL was valued around $85, with total open interest standing at $4.2 billion as memecoin trading activity continues to generate upward momentum in futures market demand.

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