Solana Season: Must-Follow Solana Projects Of 2024

Solana, a high-performance blockchain known for its scalability and low fees, has demonstrated an impressive resurgence in recent years, especially in 2024. After navigating a challenging period caused by the downfall of the FTX exchange in 2021, Solana has rebounded with renewed strength and innovation.

With $4.55 billion in total value locked (TVL) as of June 2024, Solana now hosts hundreds, if not thousands, of projects. Its ability to handle high transaction volumes at low costs has made it a perfect fit for decentralized applications (dApps) that cater to diverse areas within non-fungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized exchanges (DEXs), meme coins, decentralized finance (DeFi), such as lending and borrowing, liquid staking, decentralized swaps, cross-chain bridging, and derivatives trading.

Finding Your Fit in the Solana Ecosystem

Given Solana's wide and diverse ecosystem, navigating it can be daunting. Common questions include "How do I find new projects?", "Which are top Solana projects," and "What's the best project for me?" This guide aims to address these questions and help users explore the top projects on Solana in 2024

In addition to offering in-depth explanations of each top Solana project, this guide will provide insights into the core functionalities of the Solana blockchain, and also explore Solana's resurgence and its increasing adoption within the crypto space.

What is Solana?

Solana is a blockchain platform designed to compete with, and potentially surpass, Ethereum. Launched in 2020 by Anatoly Yakovenko, Solana aims to provide scalability without compromising decentralization and security. It achieves these features through its innovative Proof of History (PoH) consensus combined with the Proof of Stake (PoS) mechanism, which allows the network to process transactions at high speed and low cost.

Read more on Solana's Proof of History Consensus Mechanism!

Solana's key advantage lies in its scalability, boasting a theoretical capacity of over 710,000 transactions per second (TPS) without additional scaling solutions. Solana has seen a substantial uptick in network activity. In January 2024, the platform recorded a transaction volume surpassing $1 trillion, marking a significant increase from the previous year.

A Streamlined Architecture for High Performance

Unlike Ethereum's multi-layered approach, Solana leverages a single-layer blockchain architecture. This streamlined approach relies on a network of powerful and fast computers to validate transactions and store data efficiently. This design allows Solana to achieve significantly faster transaction speeds and lower fees compared to Ethereum.

SOL: The Fuel for the Solana Network

Similar to Ethereum's ETH token, Solana utilizes SOL as its native cryptocurrency. SOL can be purchased on major cryptocurrency exchanges and serves a critical purpose within the Solana network. Users spend SOL to cover transaction fees and interact with various dApps built on the platform.

Solana Growing Despite Market Turbulence

The Solana ecosystem now boasts more than 2,500 monthly active developers. Despite some fluctuations throughout 2023, the developer count has shown resilience and commitment, with a 50% increase in developer retention. This directly reflects Solana's robust growth and ability to attract and retain developers.

In January 2024 alone, Solana added over 10 million new registered addresses, the highest since May 2022. This indicates a rapidly expanding user base, further solidifying Solana's position as a leading blockchain platform.

Is Solana Going to Surpass Ethereum?

Solana's native token, SOL, has exhibited impressive growth. The token's price saw a significant rally, reaching as high as $122 in late December 2023, spurred by increased demand for SOL-based memecoins and other digital assets. It is now trading above $170.

Source: CoinMarketCap

Despite facing challenging market conditions, Solana has outperformed many of its competitors, including Ethereum. The primary driver of its resurgence is Solana's scalable platform that supports the launch and growth of top, creative, and utility-based projects. These projects have made significant strides in the Web3 space across various categories, propelling Solana to the forefront of blockchain technology.

By offering a scalable, low-cost infrastructure, Solana has become the go-to platform for developers looking to build decentralized applications. This has led to a thriving ecosystem where projects in DeFi, NFTs, DEXs, and more have flourished. The success of these projects has, in turn, propelled Solana's status as a leader in blockchain functionality, showcasing its capacity to handle high transaction volumes efficiently and effectively.

What Are the Top Solana Projects To Follow in 2024?

Solana's ability to host and support a diverse range of projects and applications has been a key factor in its resurgence. As a result, it continues to attract new developers and projects, further solidifying its position at the pinnacle of the blockchain industry.

Here are the top projects to follow on Solana in 2024 based on the most active and used categories:

Decentralized Exchanges (DEXs)

Jupiter Exchange

Jupiter has become a cornerstone of Solana's decentralized exchange ecosystem, offering a suite of services for traders. Its DEX aggregator provides the best price offers from supported DEXs, and its decentralized swap feature supports limit orders, similar to centralized exchanges. Jupiter's asset bridge also facilitates asset movement between Solana and other blockchains with its asset bridge.

Source: https://station.jup.ag/stats

Additionally, Jupiter offers a dollar-cost averaging (DCA) feature for systematic trades and a decentralized perpetual trading platform with leverage up to 100x. These features have attracted significant usage, with an average daily trading volume of $400 million from around 90,000 unique wallets.

Source: https://station.jup.ag/stats

Orca

Orca is renowned for its user-friendly experience and concentrated liquidity Automated Market Maker (AMM) functionality. Its "Whirlpools" feature allows liquidity providers to specify a price range for their tokens, similar to Uniswap V3's concentrated liquidity. This approach promises higher returns for liquidity providers while reducing slippage for traders.

Source: https://v1.orca.so/about

Orca incentivizes liquidity providers by sharing the trading fees generated on the platform. As of early 2024, Orca boasts a total value locked (TVL) of approximately $185 million, underlining its status as a leading DEX on Solana.

Lending Protocols

Marinade Finance

Marinade Finance is a leader in the lending sector on Solana, primarily focusing on liquid staking. The project allows users to stake their SOL tokens and receive MSOL (liquid staking token - Marinade SOL) in return, which can be utilized across other DeFi applications. This dual functionality maximizes user yield while supporting the network's security and liquidity.

Source: https://marinade.finance/

With a TVL exceeding $1.5 billion in April 2024, Marinade has become one of the largest lending protocols on Solana. The project supports over 160 validators and continues innovating, with features such as Protected Staking Rewards to decentralize Solana further. As of the time of writing, MSOL is trading at $205

Source: https://marinade.finance/

Solend

Solend is a decentralized lending and borrowing protocol on Solana that allows users to lend their assets and earn interest or borrow against them to unlock liquidity.

Source: https://solend.fi/

According to its dashboard, $257 million worth of crypto assets are currently locked in Solend smart contracts, making it among the biggest of its niche in the Solana DeFi ecosystem.

Source: https://solend.fi/dashboard

The protocol's native token, Solend (SLND), is crucial in incentivizing liquidity providers and funding development proposals. SLND is also used for governance, enabling holders to participate in the Solend DAO to vote on protocol improvements and other key decisions.

SLND is traded on various platforms, such as Gate.io and CoinEX, and decentralized exchanges within the Solana network. At the time of this writing, it is trading at 0.6.

Staking

Jito Network

Jito Network offers liquid staking services on the Solana blockchain, allowing users to stake their SOL tokens and receive jitoSOL in return. This liquid-staked SOL can be used across various DeFi protocols, enhancing its utility and allowing for more flexible yield strategies. Jito aims to secure the Solana network while providing real yield for stakers.

Source: https://www.jito.network/

Over 10 million SOL are staked on Jito by over 94,000 holders, directly reflecting its popularity and trust within the community. The protocol is governed by the Jito DAO, where holders of the Jito token (JTO) can vote on proposals and improvements.

Source: https://www.jito.network/stats/

JTO is also used as an incentive for liquidity providers and can be traded on major exchanges like Binance and Coinbase. At the time of writing, JTO is trading at $3.61

NFTs

Magic Eden

Magic Eden has emerged as the premier NFT marketplace in Solana, known for its vibrant ecosystem and extensive range of digital art collections.

Initially, they focused on Solana but have now expanded its support to other blockchains, such as Ethereum and Bitcoin, making it a versatile platform for NFT trading.

Source: https://magiceden.io/

As of early 2024, Magic Eden has become the largest NFT marketplace on Solana by volume. It stands out by its user-friendly interface and robust community engagement.

Mad Lads

Mad Lads is a distinctive NFT project on Solana, developed by Coral, a Solana framework development company. The collection features 10,000 unique artworks, each depicting humanoid characters with various attributes and rarity levels.

With 9,966 Mad Lads minted and held by over 4,200 collectors, the project has gained significant traction within the Solana community. Mad Lads NFTs are xNFTs, including embedded code scripts that enable interactive functionalities.

Source: https://magiceden.io/marketplace/mad_lads

For instance, users can stake their Mad Lads NFTs directly through the Backpack wallet, which supports these programmable features. In December 2023, the collection achieved an all-time high (ATH) floor price of over 229 SOL, translating to more than $20,000 per NFT based on the SOL value.

Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN)

Helium

Helium is a decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) that migrated to the Solana blockchain in April 2023. The project aims to revolutionize how internet services are commoditized by allowing individuals to operate their hotspot services.

Source: https://www.helium.com/

Helium uses the Solana blockchain for remittance and administrative purposes, while hotspot owners focus on providing connectivity services and earning rewards.

Helium operates a multi-token system where Hotspot owners earn Helium tokens (HNT) as rewards while users burn HNT to access connectivity services.

The ecosystem also includes the MOBILE token, which powers the Helium 5G project and rewards owners of 5G hotspot bundles. Both tokens are tradable on decentralized exchanges within the Solana network. At the time of writing, JTO is trading at $3.9.

Render Network

In December 2023, Render Network announced its expansion to the Solana blockchain. Render Network allows users to rent out excess GPU power to creators needing additional resources to render high-resolution graphics.

Source: https://rendernetwork.com/

This decentralized approach ensures efficient use of GPU resources and supports a wide range of creative and technical applications.

The network is powered by the Render token (RNDR), which serves as the currency for transactions within the ecosystem.

Artists use RNDR to pay for GPU power, while service providers earn RNDR as a reward. RNDR also supports the Render DAO, enabling the community to fund development proposals and participate in governance.

The token is listed on major exchanges like Binance, Kucoin, and Coinbase. At the time of writing, JTO is trading at $10.4.

Meme Coins

Dogwifhat (WIF)

Dogwifhat (WIF) has become a hot topic within the Solana ecosystem, establishing itself as one of the most notable meme coins of 2024.

Source: https://dogwifcoin.org/

Initially, Dogwifhat was gaining attention for its rapid price movements and community-driven initiatives, and due to that, WIF has experienced significant growth and volatility over the past months.

As of early April 2024, Dogwifhat had reached an all-time high of $4.67, solidifying its position as the third-largest memecoin by market capitalization, surpassing competitors like PEPE. This achievement marked a milestone for WIF, propelling its market valuation to over $4 billion.

Source: CoinGecko

The community around WIF has remained active and engaged, as indicated by a surge in social media mentions and discussions. At the time of writing, WIF is trading at $3.29.

BONK

BONK is another notable meme coin within the Solana ecosystem, drawing considerable attention for its community-centric approach and impressive market performance.

Source: https://bonkcoin.com/

BONK was first launched as a community-driven initiative. Since then, BONK has built a robust following and has been instrumental in promoting the broader adoption of memecoins on Solana.

Throughout 2023 and into 2024, BONK has seen substantial trading volumes and price action, mainly driven by its vibrant community and strategic partnerships.

The token has been utilized in various community events, airdrops, and incentive programs, significantly boosting its popularity and market presence. At the time of writing, BONK is trading at $0.00003208, with a market capitalization of over $2 Billion.

These Aren't the Only Top Projects on Solana. Watch Out for More!

Solana has firmly established itself as a powerhouse in the blockchain world, with remarkable growth in transaction volume, an expanding user base, and a thriving developer community. Its technological advancements and strategic initiatives position it well for continued success in 2024 and beyond.

From decentralized exchanges and lending protocols to NFT marketplaces and DePIN projects, Solana hosts various projects catering to various interests and use cases and is still set for more growth.