AI memecoins, a new kind of cryptocurrency that combines artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies based on online humor, have been driving Solana, the third most popular blockchain, to success in recent weeks. For the first time in two months, the run has caused Sol, the native token of the Solana blockchain, upon which several memecoins are based, to rise beyond $175.
Solana’s gains have surpassed those of the biggest cryptocurrencies, even if the overall cryptocurrency market is still consolidating this week after falling to lows in early October. Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and other stocks in the CoinDesk 20 Index are underperforming compared to Sol. Over the past seven days, Solana has increased by 19%, while Bitcoin has increased by 0.8% and Ethereum and XRP have decreased by 3%.
With 1 Sol equal to 0.07 Ethereum and the highest price versus Bitcoin since August, Solana’s price movement this month has propelled SOL to a new all-time high against Ethereum. The company markets itself as a substitute for Ethereum’s expensive fees and sluggish transaction speeds.
Since Goatseus Maximus, a new memecoin, generated discussion regarding the convergence of the two technologies, AI memecoins have captured the attention of the cryptocurrency community. According to DeFiLlama statistics, the craze contributed to a record high of around 9 million daily active users on the Solana blockchain and a high of $4.5 million in transaction fees on Wednesday.
On October 10, Pump.fun, an unidentified developer, invented Goatseus Maximus, or GOAT. Attracted a lot of attention after the AI bot Truth Terminal, supported by Marc Andreessen, recommended it on X.
Based on the AI bot’s obsession with goat memes, the token has amassed a $722 million market value since it was established two weeks ago and has sparked a wave of other AI-generated memecoins.
According to CoinGecko, the industry has a market valuation of over $2 billion, up 24% in the past day. There is also a flurry of activity around other memecoins headquartered on Solana. Both “cat in a dogs world” and “popcat” have increased by more than 20% this week.
The continued rapid growth of decentralized financing, or DeFi, may have contributed to Solana’s recent success.
This year, Solana has increased by about 450%. The entire value of digital assets staked on a blockchain through DeFi, expressed in U.S. dollars, has nearly doubled to $6.9 billion since January.
