Solana pumps to all-time high as Bitcoin, altcoins lag

Solana’s native SOL token is charting new highs on Sunday, gaining in U.S. dollars and in Bitcoin (BTC) on the back of growing network adoption and a key technical breakthrough. 

The SOL token peaked at $52.42 on Sunday, according to TradingView, having gained 24% over the 24-hour trading cycle. That marked a new all-time high for SOL and the first definitive break above the psychological $50 level. As Cointelegraph previously reported, Solana rallied to a high of $49.99 on May 2 before losing some of its momentum. The $50 target had remained elusive over the previous two weeks. 

At the time of publication, SOL was trading above $51.00.

At current values, Solana has a total market capitalization of $13.9 billion, placing it in 15th spot on the crypto market cap rankings, according to Coingecko.

Solana was vastly outperforming Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH) on Sunday, as the two largest cryptocurrencies remained subdued following a major market meltdown at the hands of Elon Musk coupled with deteriorating investor sentiment. SOL was up 24% in Bitcoin comparative and had gained 28% against ETH over the previous 24 hours.

Bitcoin price was little changed on Sunday. Ethereum, meanwhile, was down 3.2%. The altcoin market was down over the 24-hour period. 

Solana has quickly emerged as one of the most active blockchain networks in recent months. The network recently brought in $40 million in strategic investments through the Solana Foundation grants program to advance its protocols and decentralized applications. Over 50 market-ready projects have launched on Solana since March, with a large concentration of DeFi applications.

As Cointelegraph previously reported, demand for the SOL token is rising as more Solana-based projects issue airdrops to existing users. The hunt for cheaper Ethereum alternatives has also been cited as a potential reason for the recent growth in Solana’s network activity.