Layer-1 blockchain Solana is marking its fifth anniversary since the launch of its mainnet in 2020. It has rapidly become one of the largest chains in terms of transaction volume and is among a select group of cryptocurrencies put forth for inclusion in a proposed U.S. digital asset stockpile.
From its inception on March 16, 2020, the Solana network has handled over 408 billion transactions and facilitated nearly $1 trillion in value on decentralized exchanges, establishing its position as a prominent player in the layer-1 blockchain space.
Let’s take a look at some significant milestones within the Solana ecosystem since its introduction to the public by the CEO and co-founder in 2020.
Solana emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic
Though Solana’s foundations were laid back in late 2017 with the release of a white paper detailing a timekeeping method for blockchains known as “Proof of History,” the official launch didn’t occur until March 2020 — coinciding with the onset of global emergency measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The launch of the high-speed, low-cost layer-1 Solana blockchain was backed by Multicoin Capital, a venture capital firm with a focus on cryptocurrency, which led a funding round in July 2019, generating approximately $20 million from private token sales.
Additional investments soon followed, and within just 20 months of its launch, Solana was regarded as a potential “Ethereum killer,” witnessing a surge in its market cap to $77.8 billion during the peak of the 2020-2021 bull run.
Solana faced challenges during the 2022 bear market and FTX collapse — but rebounded
The bear market of 2022, combined with the dramatic collapse of the FTX crypto exchange, saw Solana’s market cap plummet to $3 billion, marking a staggering 96% drop from its earlier high by late 2022.
FTX had acquired approximately 58 million Solana tokens, valued at around $7.4 billion, and was considered “the most serious” layer-1 project being supported by FTX, as reported in April 2022.
After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on November 11, 2022, FTX has been working on unlocking hundreds of millions of dollars in staked Solana tokens from its wallets. By December 29, 2022, Solana’s price had tumbled to $8.30.
Despite this setback, 2023 ushered in a remarkable resurgence for Solana, with its market cap climbing nearly fiftyfold from $3 billion to over $140 billion by January 19, 2025.
The memecoin frenzy propelled Solana’s adoption
A major factor driving Solana’s revival was the memecoin boom that occurred between late 2023 and 2024 – a thriving $100 billion market where Solana held a leading position.
Numerous Solana-based memecoins, including Bonk (BONK), Dogwifhat (WIF), Fartcoin (FARTCOIN), and Pudgy Penguins (PENGU), achieved multibillion-dollar market caps in early 2024. This period coincided with the rise of the memecoin launchpad Pump.fun, which swiftly became a favorite destination for memecoin enthusiasts.
Pump.fun alone generated over $540 million in revenue over the last year and had outperformed Ethereum in trading volume during certain periods.
However, no memecoin garnered as much attention as the Official Trump (TRUMP) token, which was launched by a close group around current U.S. President Donald Trump on January 17. This token surged to a market cap of $14.6 billion within two days before experiencing a significant decline.
The TRUMP memecoin briefly lifted the total value locked in Solana’s decentralized finance (DeFi) sector to $14.2 billion, placing it just behind Ethereum, according to DeFiLlama data.
Happy 5th birthday to Solana! 🥳 Congratulations on five years of developing and delivering remarkable technology to our industry! 🎉 Manlets on top!
Additionally, Solana has established itself as the third-largest platform for stablecoins, trailing only Ethereum and Tron.
Solana introduced the first major crypto phone
In May 2023, Solana launched its first significant crypto phone, dubbed the “Solana Saga.” Initial sales of this Android device, which includes a built-in crypto wallet, started slowly but surged after a promotional airdrop of 30 million BONK tokens attracted memecoin fans to make purchases.
Subsequently, Solana revealed the upgraded “Seeker” smartphone last September to facilitate memecoin trading and accumulate token rewards.
Despite lacking the technical capabilities of leading brands such as iPhone or Google Pixel, the Solana phones have seen over 140,000 presales.
The Solana Seeker is currently priced at $500.
Throughout its five-year journey, Solana has faced multiple network outages, during which block production has been halted for extended periods. Validators have had to restart the network on several occasions in response to elevated levels of activity.
A new independent validator client named Firedancer is expected to launch on Solana’s mainnet in 2025 to enhance client diversity and is considered a better alternative to “QUIC,” a data transfer protocol from Google that has encountered issues processing transactions on Solana numerous times.
Solana to be included in a digital asset stockpile
The Trump administration has announced plans to feature Solana in its Digital Asset Stockpile, as confirmed by an executive order on March 7. It is set to become the youngest cryptocurrency included in the collection.
The Digital Asset Stockpile will initially utilize cryptocurrencies forfeited in federal criminal cases.
While the U.S. government reportedly does not hold Solana, according to analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, the White House stated that it would conduct an audit of its crypto asset holdings.
Trump had previously indicated on March 2 that Solana would become a U.S. reserve asset.
However, he later created a Bitcoin-only reserve and proposed the Digital Asset Stockpile, which will likely feature Solana along with Ether (ETH), XRP (XRP), and Cardano (ADA).
Currently, Solana is valued at $128.17, ranking as the sixth-largest cryptocurrency with a market cap of $64.5 billion. It remains down 56% from its all-time high as the broader market grapples with recession fears and declining sentiment.
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