The Solana SOL -6.90% network has emerged as the most popular blockchain ecosystem so far this year, according to CoinGecko Research. The layer 1 blockchain now accounts for 49.3% of global crypto investor interest in chain-specific narratives, the report, published Wednesday, said.

"Solana ecosystem’s dominant mindshare has been fueled by Solana’s continued rally back to 2021 highs, alongside the strong performance of key ecosystem project tokens such as Pyth and native memecoins such as dogwifhat," the report added.

Solana's popularity has surged since the beginning of 2024. Image: CoinGecko Research.

Solana’s price climbs on the back of surging trading volumes

On Monday, Solana surged above $200 for the first time in two years, reaching its highest price level since 2021, driven by a surge in network trading volume. SOL's price is up more than 700% over the last 12 months. The price of SOL has rallied by over 7% in the past 24 hours to change hands for $187.30 at 11:16 a.m. ET, according to The Block's Price Page.

The price of Solana has increased on Thursday by over 7%. Image: The Block.

According to Thursday's Coinbase market update, around $11 billion in transactions were made on the Solana blockchain in just 24 hours on Monday, powered by a slew of smaller tokens, particularly memecoins.

Memecoin mania drives Solana network activity

In the last week, Solana’s onchain volumes have soared, and the fees the network has collected have risen to new heights. According to The Block's Data Dashboard, daily transaction fees paid on Solana have been surging since the beginning of March. On Monday, the total amount of transaction fees paid on Solana hit an all-time high of $5.08 million.