Solana Reaches Record Number of Transactions Thanks to PENGU Launch
Date: 2024-12-20 Author: Oliver Abernathy Categories: BLOCKCHAIN
The Solana blockchain network has seen a record number of transactions in a day this week, reaching 66.9 million. This is the highest number since the network’s launch in 2020, surpassing the previous record of 57 million set on December 24, 2021.
The rapid increase in network activity is due to the launch of the PENGU token, which the NFT collection Pudgy Penguins unveiled this week. The token airdrop started on Tuesday and has generated huge interest among crypto enthusiasts. In the first hour, more than 100,000 users managed to receive their free tokens, and the project’s website was visited by more than 4.7 million people.
The growing interest in the PENGU token has become a catalyst for an increase in the overall number of transactions on Solana. Amid this activity, Solana has surpassed other leading blockchains such as Ethereum, Base, and Tron in terms of daily transfers.
The record number of transactions has also affected the price of SOL, the native cryptocurrency of the Solana network. At the peak of activity, the SOL rate reached $227, but later dropped to $207.
The PENGU token debuted with a market capitalization of $3.5 billion, quickly entering the top 100 cryptocurrencies by this indicator. However, after listing on exchanges, the market value of the token fell to $1.9 billion, and its price at times fell by more than 50%.
According to CoinGecko, the current price of PENGU is $0.03029, which is 7% lower than in the previous 24 hours. This decrease is due to the mass sale of tokens received during the airdrop. Some participants were able to make significant profits. For example, one trader made over $8 million in just 20 minutes.
Solana continues to demonstrate the scalability potential of its network, strengthening its position among the leading blockchains.
