Solana (SOL) broke new ground on March 15 after an 11% rally brought its market capitalization to a new all-time high of $82.5 billion at a price of $186.77 per token despite the overall downtrend, which saw the market contract by 4%.

This achievement surpasses its prior peak market cap of approximately $77.9 billion — observed in November 2021 at its all-time high of $259.96 — signaling strong investor confidence and a growing interest in the digital asset.

SOL was trading at $181.35 as of press time — up 9.29% over the past 24 hours, with a market cap hovering just above $80 billion, according to CryptoSlate data.

Sol ecosystem thriving

Adding to Solana’s impressive week, the network saw a record-breaking number of new addresses, with a daily average of 738,040 new addresses based on a seven-day moving average.

This uptick in new addresses highlights the growing community and interest in the Solana ecosystem, which saw a green day of trading, with most tokens recording significant gains.

DEX native tokens — including Raydium and the recently launched Jupiter and Jito — saw double-digit gains over the past day.

RAY and JUP were up more than 30%, while JITO recorded gains 10%.

Meanwhile, the largest Solana-based memecoins like WIF and BONK saw a drawdown mimicking the wider market as investors turned to smaller cap tokens on DEXs amid renewed memecoin frenzy.

Memecoin fever

The current enthusiasm surrounding Solana is largely fueled by the vibrant trading activity related to newly launched memecoins on the network following a dramatic surge in memecoins this year.

Noteworthy gains were observed in memecoins like Dogwifhat, Popcat, and Bonk, which have posted gains ranging from 117% to 554% over the past 30 days. This surge in memecoin activity has drawn considerable attention to Solana, highlighting its utility and growing relevance in the crypto space.

The appeal of memecoins on the Solana network has been attributed to their accessibility and entertainment value. The trend reflects a broader interest in engaging with the crypto market in a fun and accessible manner.