Solana's Active Wallet Addresses Drop to Three-Year Low Despite Positive Developments

Despite recent positive news, activity on the Solana blockchain continues to yield pessimistic results.

Solana's Active Wallet Addresses Drop to Three-Year Low. Image: The Block Crypto

According to data from The Block, the average number of active wallets on the Solana blockchain over a 7-day period as of early September 2023 stands at approximately 207,000 addresses, marking the lowest level recorded since the beginning of 2021.

Address counts peaked in April 2021 at 3.47 million wallets, followed by a stabilized recovery to 1.29 million wallets in May 2022, before declining sharply in the latter half of 2022 and throughout 2023.

Active Wallet Addresses on Solana. Source: The Block Crypto (06/09/2023)

In comparison, active wallet addresses on Bitcoin and Ethereum, while also fluctuating with market cycles, have largely maintained levels similar to early 2021. As of early September, Bitcoin boasts nearly 906,000 active wallets, while Ethereum reports around 405,000 addresses.

Active Wallet Addresses on Bitcoin (green) and Ethereum (pink). Source: The Block Crypto (06/09/2023)

Notably, The Block attributes two significant events during this period: the collapse of the FTX exchange and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) classifying SOL tokens as securities in lawsuits against exchanges like Binance and Coinbase, both impacting Solana's operations significantly.

Major trading platforms like Robinhood subsequently delisted SOL to avoid legal repercussions.

However, despite challenges, Solana's blockchain has seen notable advancements in 2023. From continuous disruptions during 2021-2022, Solana recorded only one major outage in February 2023, operating smoothly thereafter for six months.

Solana's Operational History as of September 2023. Source: Solana Status (06/09/2023)

Solana has also achieved several encouraging milestones, including integration with e-commerce platform Shopify for payments and a recent trial by Visa for payments using the USDC stablecoin.

Leading Ethereum DeFi project Maker recently announced intentions to build its own blockchain on Solana's technology, citing superior technical features and lower fees to support Maker's "Endgame Plan."

Solana (SOL) Price Fluctuations in the Last Year. Source: CoinMarketCap (06/09/2023)