Recent developments have highlighted the growing impact of Solana in the gaming and blockchain industries. On Oct. 23, the network generated $8.7million in revenue. Game developer Studio369 also announced that it would migrate its MetalCore mech-shooter to Solana, to benefit from faster transactions.
Solana sets new revenue record, solidifying its position as the top blockchain contender
Solana has again made headlines by breaking records in network revenue. Blockworks Research data shows that Solana reached a record-breaking level of economic value from its network activities on October 22. On Oct. 22, the upward trend continued, and the blockchain generated approximately $8.7 millions in network revenues. This was up from less than $8 million on the day before.
This $8.7million figure is the sum of all revenue, which includes base fees, prioritization fees and tips. This surge is due to blockchain ecosystem’s rapid expansion, with significant growth both in the non-fungible (NFT), and decentralized (DeFi) token sectors.
Recent achievements of Solana aren’t limited to financial milestones. In several important metrics, the network continues to perform better than its nearest competitor Ethereum. SOL (Solana’s native coin) has had a 600% performance increase over Ethereum’s Ether since the beginning of 2023. The dramatic rise in price has made Solana a major contender to Ethereum, which dominates the DeFi and smart contracts space.
Solana’s total value (TVL) has seen an equally meteoric increase. Data from DeFiLlama shows that the TVL for Solana has risen from $250 million to $6.8billion as of October 24. The growth of the Solana network can be traced to increasing user engagement, as well as investment, in blockchain-based applications.
The rise of Solana has been noticed by the blockchain community, especially in terms of fees. Solana reached a major milestone in July when it surpassed Ethereum for the first-time in terms of weekly fees. It generated approximately $25 million in revenue per week compared with Ethereum’s $11 million. The achievement was a major turning point for the competition between both networks.
This disparity can be partly attributed to Ethereum’s Dencun update in March which reduced fees for transactions by 95%. The fee reduction increased accessibility for Ethereum users but also led to a significant decrease in revenue. Solana, on the other hand, has been able to maintain a constant level of activity in its network and charges, thanks to fast transaction speeds, low fees and a growing user base.
A variety of factors have contributed to the surge in Solana network activity, such as a recent wave on meme coin trading platforms based on Solana like Pump.fun or Moonshot. The platforms are gaining popularity with traders and have increased the volume of transactions on the Solana Network. As traders try to protect their transactions in times of congestion, they have increased revenue through priority fees and tipping.
The rise of the blockchain has also been aided by the decentralized exchanges on the Solana Network. Raydium, an important Solana DEX, for example, has surpassed Ethereum in 24-hour revenue, with $3.4 million, as opposed to Ethereum’s $3.35 millions.
Solana’s path to ETF inclusion
Solana is gaining momentum and becoming a more attractive candidate to be included in exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on cryptocurrency. SOL is considered the most likely token to join ETFs in US. Ethereum and Bitcoin are already prominent in discussions. This would increase Solana’s credibility and visibility in the traditional financial market, potentially attracting new institutional investors.
The rapid growth of the Solana network is reflected in its recent accomplishments. However, as the network continues to grow it faces new challenges. While the blockchain is known for its high-throughput, low fees and other key features, it can also be vulnerable to network congestion. In order to maintain the momentum of Solana, it is important to strike a balance among decentralization and scalability.
Ethereum remains dominant in the space of blockchain despite increased competition by Solana. It is one of the biggest payment networks on the planet. The network has processed $4 trillion worth of settlements in the last year and $5 trillion worth in stablecoin transactions. Matthew Sigel is the head of VanEck’s digital asset research. He estimates that Ethereum will generate $66 billion worth of free cashflow annually by 2030. This further cements its position in digital assets.
Solana is, on the other hand, proving itself to be an impressive competitor. Its expanding ecosystem, as well as its recent achievements, demonstrate its ability to change the dynamics of the competition within the blockchain sector. Solana’s ability to scale and innovate effectively could challenge Ethereum as the blockchain of choice for DeFi and NFTs.
Studio369, a game developer, has made a big announcement to move its MetalCore mech-shooter game to the Solana Blockchain. This is a huge step that will enhance the gaming experience by allowing for faster transactions. This move will take advantage of Solana’s average transaction rate, which is currently around 3,000 per second. It makes it one of fastest layer-1 Blockchains.
Studio369 made the decision to move MetalCore from Ethereum to Solana due to an increasing demand for blockchain networks that are high performance and can handle modern gaming’s unique needs. MetalCore users will enjoy near-instantaneous actions on the blockchain, crucial to maintaining a smooth gaming experience. Developers of the game stressed that Solana’s high-throughput was crucial to ensure that actions in-game that required blockchain interaction, like transactions and asset administration, were processed without delay.
The MetalCore Migration will also use the GameShift Platform from Solana Labs. The platform includes a payment system and a shopfront that allows players to trade, buy and sell assets in-game. The game itself, an open-world title that features both player-versus-player (PvP) and player-versus-environment (PvE) combat, will enable users to collect assets from defeated opponents and convert them into Web3 assets for trading on the blockchain.
MetalCore’s migration is part of an overall trend where blockchain gaming protocols are flocking to Solana in order to benefit from its low transaction fees and high-speed transactions. Developers who want to build scalable, cost-effective games have found the network very appealing.
Solana is more than just a gaming platform. The blockchain has also been embraced by Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePINs), citing the scalability of its transactions and the speed with which it can be implemented. MetaBlox’s Roam, which is a decentralized network for WiFi and proof-of location, was moved to Solana last April, with the same reasons that Studio369 cited. In 2023, Helium, a decentralized wireless communication protocol, will also transition to Solana. This move solidifies the reputation of the blockchain as the platform that is best suited for projects requiring rapid processing.
The network’s reliability has been a problem over the years. It experienced several major outages. On Feb. 6, 2024 the most recent outage lasted for about five hours, causing temporary interruptions in on-chain activities. The incidents raised questions about the stability of Solana, which led to efforts to upgrade its infrastructure.
The Solana Foundation has released a number of updates to address the issues. These include “pared down versions” of their highly anticipated Firedancer update. In the interim, updates are being made to strengthen network resilience in anticipation of the full release scheduled for 2025. The efforts are being made during a time of rapid growth, as Solana reached a monthly active address count of over 100,000,000 in early October. This is a record number and represents a dramatic increase from 509,000 addresses tracked at the start of 2024.
Solana Blockchain Gaming: The Next Frontier
MetalCore’s migration is part of an industry-wide trend where game developers explore blockchain technology more and more to improve gameplay and create novel economic models. Blockchain gaming allows players to own assets, allowing them to trade, rent, and sell in-game goods across multiple platforms. This blurs the line between real-world and virtual economies.
Solana is a cryptocurrency with unique features that make it a great fit for games. The high transactional throughput and minimal fees of Solana allow developers to create complex games that require frequent interactions on the chain without having to charge players for gas. These features are crucial for MetalCore as they will allow players to make real-time purchases and asset transfers, integrating their economy with the Web3 ecosphere.
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