January 29, 2024 at 14:03 GMTModified date: January 29, 2024 at 14:03 GMT
January 29, 2024 at 14:03 GMT

Solana’s Jupiter tops $500M in trading amidst airdrop frenzy

Jupiter, a decentralised exchange operating on the Solana blockchain, has reached an impressive milestone by registering a daily trading volume of $520 million.

Solana’s Jupiter tops $500M in trading amidst airdrop frenzy

Jupiter, which is a decentralised exchange based on the Solana blockchain, has achieved a remarkable milestone by recording a daily trading volume of $520 million.

This impressive figure has allowed Jupiter to overtake Uniswap v3’s Ethereum market. The latter’s trading volume stood at $510 million at the same time.

Launched in 2021, Jupiter has been a key player in the Solana ecosystem, functioning as a liquidity aggregator. It has processed transactions worth $66.64 billion to date.

The recent spike in Jupiter’s trading volume can be attributed to the airdrop of a new memecoin $WEN to over one million wallets. This has also led to a surge in stablecoin trading on the platform.

The platform’s popularity is further evidenced by the record-high 7-day moving average of new addresses on Solana.

Token airdrop 

Jupiter’s trading volume saw a significant boost with about $50 million coming from trades involving “Wen,” a newly introduced memecoin. 

This airdrop was distributed to users who had interacted with Jupiter DEX in the past six months and to owners of the Solana Saga phone. 

The introduction of Wen is part of a broader strategy leading up to the airdrop of Jupiter’s own token, $JUP, scheduled for 31 January.

A substantial portion of Jupiter’s recent trading volume originated from transactions converting Solana’s SOL into popular stablecoins like USD Coin ($USDC) and Tether ($USDT), totaling around $191 million. 

The upcoming $JUP token is anticipated to have a significant market cap, currently valued at $0.61 per token. 

Recently, the crypto market is abuzz with excitement over multiple new airdrops, including Ethereum’s AltLayer and Dymension’s forthcoming token distributions.

Ethereum’s AltLayer is at the forefront, planning a massive $100 million airdrop that has captured the community’s attention. Similarly, Dymension is gearing up for a substantial distribution as well, with 70 million tokens set to be released, valued at approximately $210 million. 

Other contributing factors 

Jupiter’s success is not just a one-off event. The platform has been consistently growing, with its trading volume peaking at $16 billion in December. 

Following the latest developments, one could say Jupiter is on track to surpass that figure this month. 

This growth is partly attributed to Solana’s low transaction fees, a factor that has been acknowledged by key figures in the crypto community, including Solana’s co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko and Adeniyi Abiodun of the Sui blockchain network.

Currently, CoinMarketCap ranks Jupiter as the fifth-largest DEX by trading volume. The platform is trailing behind other major exchanges but is expected to gain more ground with the launch of its native $JUP token. 

The project’s pseudonymous developer, Meow, emphasised that the launch is more than just about the token; it’s about building a community and pioneering new products in the DeFi space:

“Remember, Jupuary is not about launching a token. There are thousands of that everyday. This Jupuary is about creating symbolism, community roots, and crucial new products together. So this Jupuary, let us launch the symbol for DeFi 2.0 together, kickstart the most elite force to push the meta forward, and wtf, experiment on building a new groundbreaking launchpad.”

Solana’s price movement 

In related news, Solana ($SOL) has witnessed a strong resurgence, with its price nearing the $100 mark after spending a week around $80. 

This recent upswing, which represents an over 11% increase in a week, has boosted Solana’s market capitalisation to $42.5 billion. 

Analysts are optimistic about the continuation of this trend, drawing parallels to Solana’s significant 660% surge last year.

Technical indicators have shown bullish signals as well, suggesting a potential continuation of this upward trajectory. The two MACD lines went through a bullish crossover, after which green histograms were seen on its chart. The RSI was also seen northbound, moving closer to the 60 mark at press time.  

Trending