Solana Price Forms Triple-Top as DeFi and NFT Volume Soars

Solana price has formed a bearish chart pattern as Solana’s ecosystem makes a stunning comeback. SOL/USD was trading at $24 on Friday evening, which was a few points below the year-to-date high of $26.50. It has soared by more than 206% from the lowest level in 2022.

Solana DeFi volume rebounds

Solana, once a popular blockchain, came under intensure in November, following the collapse of FTX and Alameda Research. In addition to FTX Token, it was the most exposed cryptocurrency in FTX since the company was one of its key funders.

FTX and Alameda also had a major role in Serum, then the biggest DeFi protocol in the ecosystem. Serum made it possible for investors to earn yield in Solana. Serum collapsed because its public key was controlled by FTX. 

In the aftermath of this collapse, Solana saw its total value locked (TVL) plunge from more than $12 billion to less than $400 million. Serum, which had a TVL of more than $1 billion has collapsed. And in its place, the developers are working on a new product known as OpenBook. However, it has not gained much traction as its TVL stands at $4 million.

Solana has now seen some of its DeFi volume pare rise to about $608 million. Most protocols like Marinade Finance, Lido, Orca, and Raydium have seen their TVL jump by over 50% in the past 30 days. Marinade’s TVL has soared by 150% to about $152 million.

Solana NFTs rebound

Another part of Solana’s ecosystem that is doing well is its NFTs. For a long time, Solana has been one of the biggest players in the NFT industry. In its best month, January 2022, Solana handled NFTs worth over $333 million.

And in January of this year, Solana handled NFTs worth over $108.2 million. This was a major rebound since it was its first time to cross the $100 million mark since September last year. It was also significantly higher than last month’s $75 million. 

Most of these sales started earlier this month when Bonk came to being. Bonk is a meme coin that has a close resemblance to Shiba Inu. It became popular earlier this month although its poularity has waned in the past few days as the Bonk price crashed.

So, what next for the Solana price? It is unclear whether Solana has more room to run since I expect that its ecosystem will struggle to mirror January’s performance. It has also formed a triple-top whose neckline is at $20. Therefore, there is a likelihood that the coin will have a bearish breakout in the near term.