As the Memecoin craze in the cryptocurrency market cools down, the Solana ecosystem is experiencing severe shocks. Data shows that the price of Solana has continued to fall since it hit an all-time high of $293 in mid-January and has now fallen to around $122, a drop of 58%. This decline resonates with the collapse of on-chain revenue and locked assets (TVL) – according to DefiLlama statistics, Solana network weekly revenue plummeted 93% from the peak of US$55.3 million in January to US$4 million last week, and the on-chain TVL evaporated by nearly 50% in two months, from US$12 billion to US$6.4 billion.
Memecoin transactions, which are the mainstay of Solana’s ecosystem revenue, contributed 80% at its peak. Taking the leading platform Pump.fun as an example, its daily revenue peaked at US$15 million in late January, but by March 7 it had shrunk by 95% to US$800,000. Market analysts pointed out that this cliff-like drop is closely related to the dramatic fluctuations in the Trump family token. After Trump launched the eponymous token TRUMP on January 18, its price soared for a time, but then plummeted 86% to $10.5; the MELANIA token issued by Melania shrunk by 95% in seven weeks and is now quoted at only $0.71.
Bobby Ong, founder of CoinGecko, commented: “The emergence of Trump-related tokens has become a turning point in the meme coin market. They have sucked away the liquidity and market attention of other cryptocurrencies.” Affected by this, Solana’s price continued to be under pressure, forming a vicious circle with the plummeting DApp revenue within the ecosystem. Data shows that Solana’s decentralized application weekly revenue has dropped 86% from $238 million in mid-January to $32 million, further exacerbating investors’ concerns about Solana’s price support.
The current total market value of memecoin has evaporated 68% from its peak of $137 billion in December last year, leaving only $44 billion. The loss of market confidence is not only reflected in the price trend of Solana, but also in the sharp decline in on-chain activity. Although some developers are trying to revive the ecosystem through technological innovation, whether Solana’s price can stop falling is still highly dependent on the recovery of market risk appetite. Industry observers warn that if the meme coin speculation boom fails to reappear, Solana’s price may face deeper valuation correction pressure.
