Solana Price Increases, But Adoption Rates Remain Low

Summary: While the price of Solana (SOL) has seen a recent rise, the adoption of the network continues to show troubling signs, with a steep decline in new user activity. This article reviews recent data indicating the challenges faced by Solana in attracting new addresses and users, which are crucial for a sustainable price rally.

Key Takeaways

Solana's recent price increase to $144 has not been matched by a growth in network adoption.
The Network Growth indicator, which reflects new addresses engaging with the blockchain, has fallen significantly.
Historically, increased user adoption is necessary for price rallies to sustain.
The long-term trend shows a decrease in new wallet creation, raising concerns about future growth.

Solana

Declining Network Growth for Solana

Recent data from Santiment, an on-chain analytics company, reveals that Solana's Network Growth has been on a downward trend, even as the price of SOL has shown some recovery. The Network Growth metric measures how many new addresses have been created on the Solana blockchain each week. A wallet is considered “online” when it engages in any form of transfer activity. Therefore, this metric counts wallets that complete their first transaction on the network.

When the Network Growth number is high, it typically indicates a surge in the creation of addresses, suggesting a growing user base. Conversely, a low value implies a stagnation in attracting new users, pointing to a potential difficulty in bringing in fresh investors.

The following chart, shared by Santiment, illustrates the decline in Network Growth over the past few years:

Solana Network Growth

As depicted in the graph, despite a recovery in SOL's price from its December lows, the Network Growth has been declining. This indicates that the positive price movement has not garnered new interest in the cryptocurrency.

Historically, price rallies need new investors to remain stable, as increased trading activity is essential to maintain momentum. In the chart, Santiment highlights a previous rally where this critical influx of new users did not occur. Although the Network Growth was initially strong, it fell sharply during a price surge in 2025, which may have contributed to a loss of momentum in that rally.

In late 2024, the scenario was favorable as both the Network Growth and the Solana bull run surged together, demonstrating that adoption was supporting the price increase. Given these historical patterns, Solana's recovery may need to see an upward trend in Network Growth to be considered sustainable.

Presently, SOL faces additional challenges. The graph indicates a long-term decline in Network Growth since peaking in November 2024, when it reached 30.2 million. This figure has now plummeted to just 7.3 million. The key question remains whether the declining trend in Solana adoption will continue or if there will be a turning point.

SOL Price Performance

Solana's price briefly rose to $144 on Sunday; however, it has since retraced and started the week at $139.

Solana Price Chart

As shown in the price chart, the trend for Solana over the past five days reflects the recent fluctuations in its value, highlighting the challenges posed by ongoing adoption issues.

By understanding Solana's price movements and examining the adoption metrics, investors can better navigate the cryptocurrency landscape and anticipate future trends.