Solana’s native cryptocurrency, SOL, has experienced a surge in value, reaching new yearly highs amidst a broader crypto market rally. This surge has been fueled by increased activity on the Solana blockchain, driven by the rush to purchase the meme coin Dogwifhat (WIF). Over the past 24 hours, SOL has seen a significant gain of 13.3%, surging from $108 to a new yearly high of $124.17 at the time of writing, according to CoinGecko data.
Prior to the rise of Solana, there was a frenzy of buying activity surrounding Dogwifhat (WIF), a meme coin based on the Solana blockchain. Its price has risen by 55% from $0.52 on February 27 to $0.82 at the time of publication. WIF was launched on December 14, 2023, and features an image of a dog wearing a knitted hat, belonging to a Solana developer. Since its inception, WIF has experienced remarkable growth, gaining over 50,000%.
Despite this recent surge, SOL is still down by 52% from its all-time high of $259.62, which it achieved on November 6, 2021. Solana was not the only large-cap cryptocurrency to reach new highs in 2024. Both Binance’s BNB and Dogecoin (DOGE) also reached respective highs of $427 and $0.12, approximately two hours before Solana.
Bitcoin (BTC) has been leading the market’s gains, driven by institutional inflows into recently approved spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) since their approval on January 11. These ETFs generated a record-breaking volume of $7.7 billion on February 28. On the same day, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF attracted over $612 million in inflows, marking the largest single-day inflow of any ETF to date.
Currently, Bitcoin is trading at $62,413, reflecting a 21% increase over the past week and a 44% increase over the past month. Ether (ETH) has also reached its highest price of 2024, reaching a local high of $3,492 on February 28. Market analysts anticipate that the upcoming spot Ether ETF could serve as a catalyst for further growth in the coming months. Many predict that ETH’s price action could follow a similar trajectory to Bitcoin leading up to the approval of its spot ETF products.
In other news, the city of Perth in Australia is gaining attention as a crypto hub, known for its wealth, seclusion, and stunning beaches.