The growth of Solana's non-fungible token (NFT) ecosystem could indicate a possible upside return for SOL. The Solana NFT ecosystem has exploded into activity throughout 2022, despite the collapse in prices on the cryptocurrency market.
Cryptocurrency market intelligence platform Messari points out in its “State of Solana Q3 2022” report that the total number of new daily NFTs in the Solana ecosystem has risen to over 8 million. This represents a 19,3% growth over the second quarter, which itself saw a 46,5% increase.
In addition, activity in the Solana NFT space in the third quarter saw an approximately 8,5-fold increase over NFT minting data recorded a year ago, the report said. Messari wrote in a recent tweet:
Solana's NFT ecosystem continued to grow in the third quarter. The total number of new daily NFTs rose to over 8 million, up 19,3% from the previous quarter. Looking ahead, this growth has continued after the 46,4% increase in the second quarter and is about 8,5 times the level minted a year ago.
Interestingly, while the total number of new daily NFTs on Solana grew in the third quarter, the volume of secondary sales on the network decreased by 62%. Messari pointed out in the report that this could be due to macro forces that could have stalled the secondary market as unique sellers outnumbered buyers.
The Solana ecosystem has made great strides in other metrics as well. For example, the assessment found that the Solana ecosystem saw a sharp increase in overall user activity, with a 70% increase in non-rated transactions in the third quarter.
Is SOL ready for a price hike in the fourth quarter?
While the Solana ecosystem has made steady progress in growing the NFT market, the quotation of its native token, SOL, was a sore point, as it plummeted sharply during the fourth quarter.
At the time of writing, SOL was trading at around $13,46, down 6,07% over the past 24 hours. This represents a 59,4% drop in value since the beginning of October and a 92,1% drop in price year-over-year.
The price crash was attributed to market events that generated FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) for the asset, such as investor concerns about Solana's connection to the trading firm founded by Sam Bankman-Fried and collapsed, Alameda Research.
According to data from Solana tokenonics on Solana Compass, a Solana blockchain explorer, Alameda remains one of the largest holders of SOL, holding 48,6 million SOLs or about 8,75% of the token's circulating supply.
Investors continued to worry about the impact that any liquidation of the tokens by the bankrupt company would have on the price of SOL. However, analysts noted that as Alameda and FTX are undergoing time-consuming bankruptcy proceedings, the assets may not be liquidated anytime soon. Likewise, tokens have matured and will be unlocked gradually.
