Solana’s SOL token accelerated its fall-wall climb in early November, gaining momentum as the six-day window from November 5 to November 11 delivered a sharp price advance. The token jumped roughly 35% over that period, reaching around $222 and pushing toward fresh highs not seen since December 2021. The move arrived as Bitcoin cleared the $84,500 level, a milestone many market participants linked to renewed institutional interest and expectations of clearer regulatory guidance in the United States. In tandem with these macro cues, SOL outperformed the broader altcoin market, which also enjoyed gains—about 33% over the same stretch—reflecting a broader risk-on mood that favored cryptocurrencies with robust on-chain activity and active developer ecosystems. This price action appeared to be less about isolated hype and more about a convergence of on-chain growth, network activity, and a market-wide sentiment shift toward liquidity and potential real-use demand for Solana’s smart contract layer.
The initial price surge was inseparable from the broader developments unfolding within Solana’s ecosystem, particularly the revival in on-chain activity and the subsequent expansion in the total value locked, a key metric that gauges the depth and confidence of DeFi, NFT, and other DApp ecosystems anchored to Solana. By November 10, the total value locked on Solana had risen to roughly $7.6 billion, marking the highest level observed since December 2021. This rebound in TVL indicated renewed capital inflows into Solana-based protocols, a signal that investors were rediscovering the network’s potential as a platform for decentralized finance, liquidity provision, and programmable contracts. Among the primary drivers of this revival were prominent Solana-native and cross-chain applications—including Jito, Raydium, and Drift—along with Binance’s liquid staking solution. Collectively, these platforms contributed to an estimated 36% growth in deposits, underscoring that the TVL uplift was not solely a function of speculative trading but also of real engagement with Solana’s core capabilities. The renewed TVL strength thus reinforced the narrative that Solana’s network activity was not a mere revival of meme-driven interest, but a more substantive reaccumulation of capital that could support deeper liquidity, staking activity, and user-driven demand for SOL.
Solana’s activity rebound extended beyond shifts in trading vigor into a broader ecosystem resurgence that included both on-chain activity and the dynamics of decentralized platforms. While a portion of Solana’s price appreciation drew commentary about memecoin dynamics—an aspect that has re-emerged in recent cycles—the revival in transactional volumes and funding flows suggested that the network’s fundamentals were being revisited by a wider audience of developers, traders, and liquidity providers. Criticism about Solana’s reliance on a suite of memecoins—such as Doge-themed projects and other viral tokens that captured attention during late-2023 and 2024 recurrences—remained part of the discourse. Projects such as Dogwifhat (WIF), Bonk (BONK), and Popcat (POPCAT) had grown to market capitalizations exceeding the $1.5 billion mark. Yet the narrative around Solana’s ecosystem was more nuanced than meme-driven speculation alone. The growth in TVL and the elevated activity levels of key decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and DeFi protocols suggested that Solana’s network effects were broadening beyond a single class of assets, with the broader ecosystem benefiting from increased participation in DEX trading, yield-generating strategies, and liquidity provision, which in turn supported Solana’s price dynamics.
In this context, Solana’s weekly DEX volumes rose sharply, reaching an impressive level for the week ending November 2. Trade activity in Solana-based DEXs surged to about $17.1 billion in the week, a figure not observed in many months and one that signaled a significant step up in cross-margin trading, liquidity provisioning, and derivative activity on the network. This surge aligned with Solana’s growing market share within the broader decentralized exchange landscape, capturing a roughly 26% share of DEX activity and even surpassing revenue and activity metrics on rival chains that previously dominated on-chain liquidity discussions. The elevated DEX volumes also coincided with a meaningful flow of network fees, with the Solana ecosystem recording about $88.2 million in monthly fees. This was a vital development for on-chain security and sustainability, as fee revenue helps fund network security, validator incentives, and ongoing governance and development efforts. By comparison, other ecosystems also generated material on-chain revenue: Ethereum, with a TVL vastly larger than Solana’s, earned around $131.6 million in monthly fees, while Tron, another platform focused on scalable base-layer solutions, accrued about $49.1 million in monthly fees. Although these figures are not merely a proxy for broader ecosystem health, they provide important snapshots of how liquidity, security economics, and user activity translate into revenue streams across different networks. It is important to note that these figures do not paint the complete picture of each ecosystem’s revenue, as substantial components come from a wider ecosystem of services, tools, and value-added products that sit beyond the core chain’s on-chain fees.
From a broader adoption and revenue perspective, it is essential to avoid overreliance on TVL and fee metrics in isolation. Those indicators, while informative, can sometimes mislead if considered in isolation, especially in cases where a subset of high-volume DApps or specific liquidity mining schemes distort broader activity signals. That said, the available data points reinforce the argument that a diverse array of Solana-based applications—beyond meme-focused tokens—are contributing to user engagement and economic activity across the network. Notably, significant non-price signals include ongoing ecosystem revenues from notable projects such as Jito and Raydium, which collectively contributed sizable sums to the Solana activity ledger: roughly $100.2 million from Jito and $83 million from Raydium. These revenues underscore the relevance of robust, revenue-generating platforms in attracting and retaining users and capital within the Solana ecosystem, which in turn can support a more sustainable long-run demand for SOL as the token that secures and enables the network’s activity.
To gain a fuller sense of Solana’s growth trajectory, it is useful to benchmark user engagement against comparable networks and across different use cases. On the NFT front, Solana’s principal NFT marketplace, Magic Eden, exhibited strong activity with about 77,160 active addresses over the prior 30 days, based on reported metrics. In comparison, OpenSea, which operates as a major NFT marketplace on the Ethereum network, recorded about 37,940 active addresses during the same timeframe. While active addresses alone are not a perfect proxy for platform quality or economic value, they offer a meaningful indicator of user adoption and platform traction. The data points collectively suggest that Solana has been successful in drawing in users beyond the meme-token craze that had characterized parts of previous cycles, signaling that SOL’s price may reap further benefits from a broader base of on-chain activity, developer interest, and platform adoption. This interpretation aligns with a more general thesis: sustainable price appreciation for SOL may be linked to a broad-based expansion of use cases, higher-quality DApps, and a diversified user base that extends beyond speculative trading.
In parallel with these activity indicators, a close look at derivatives and leverage dynamics is warranted to assess whether Solana’s price trajectory could be sustained without overheating. Perpetual futures on SOL provide a window into market sentiment and risk appetite. A positive funding rate, which occurs when long positions pay for leverage, typically reflects a crowd that is more inclined to buy and leverage. Historically, funding costs for SOL have fluctuated within a relatively moderate band, commonly ranging between 0% and 2% per month in neutral market environments. In the period around November 10, a notable spike occurred, with funding rates briefly surging to about 5%, signaling a temporary over-enthusiasm or a surge in long-levitated exposure. However, as of November 11, the data indicated a reversion toward a neutral leveraging cost of around 1.8% monthly. This modest level suggested that the decentralized derivatives market for SOL was not signaling extreme over-leverage, a factor that could contribute to a more stable continuation of price gains, provided demand remains supported by genuine activity on the Solana network and a healthy throughput of transactions and revenue-generating DApps.
From an on-chain and derivatives perspective, the signals around SOL remained broadly constructive. The combination of increased network activity, rising TVL, and a more measured funding-rate environment pointed toward a path that could plausibly lead toward new highs, particularly if the macro backdrop supports continued appetite for risk assets and the Solana ecosystem is able to sustain liquidity, security, and developer engagement. The observed activity patterns—ranging from elevated DEX volumes to NFT engagement and DeFi activity—offer a coherent picture of a network that is not merely experiencing a temporary price lift but is exhibiting foundational activity that could underpin deeper user participation and longer-term demand for SOL. While the dynamic remains subject to broader market fluctuations, regulatory developments, and competition from other chains, the current data suggested a balanced mix of speculative interest and real utilization, which may form the groundwork for SOL to test new price milestones in the near term.
This analysis reflects general market dynamics and patterns observed over the period of November 5 to November 11 and does not constitute financial advice. The observations are intended to summarize and interpret publicly available market data and activity metrics. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of the publication entity.
Conclusion
Solana’s recent price action and the accompanying on-chain activity paint a picture of a network in the midst of a meaningful, multi-faceted revival. The 35% gain from November 5 to November 11, coupled with a climb to $222 and the possibility of testing an all-time high near $260, underscores the market’s renewed interest in SOL. This interest appears to be driven not only by macro catalysts in the broader crypto market, such as Bitcoin’s cross above the $84,500 level, but also by tangible improvements in Solana’s ecosystem fundamentals. The rebound in total value locked to around $7.6 billion, the growth in deposits, and the contributions of key DApps and platforms signal that investors are re-engaging with Solana as a credible base-layer for DeFi, liquidity provisioning, and programmable contracts.
Moreover, the expansion of activity across Solana’s DEXs and ecosystem revenues suggests that Solana’s growth is anchored in real user engagement rather than purely meme-driven momentum. The notable NFT activity, as evidenced by Magic Eden’s address metrics, shows that Solana has been able to attract a broader user base that transcends speculative trading of memecoins. While concerns about memecoin dependency remain a valid part of the discourse, the broader ecosystem’s resilience—reflected in DEX volumes, TVL growth, and NFT activity—provides a more robust frame for assessing SOL’s long-run potential.
Derivatives markets currently show a tempered approach to leverage, with funding costs indicating a generally balanced risk posture among traders as of early November. Although there was a brief spike to 5% on November 10, the subsequent stabilization around 1.8% monthly implies that the market’s interest in exposure to SOL remains measured rather than excessively speculative. Taken together, these signals provide a coherent narrative: SOL’s price trajectory could continue upward if on-chain activity remains strong, if TVL remains elevated, and if the Solana ecosystem sustains its momentum with new and existing DApps drawing in capital and users.
As with any rapidly evolving protocol ecosystem, readers should consider a range of factors—including macro conditions, regulatory developments, network upgrades, and the competitive landscape across blockchains—before drawing conclusions about SOL’s next moves. This article is intended for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. The evolving dynamics of Solana’s ecosystem will require ongoing monitoring as new data emerge and market sentiment shifts.
