Solana is on a tear as it gains 300% in a month to overtake Dogecoin – is $200 next?

This year has seen some cryptocurrencies make unbelievable gains and shoot up the ranks, from Cardano which is the third-largest project now, to Binance Coin which is worth well over $80 billion. However, their surges are being dwarfed by Solana, a cryptocurrency project that’s being dubbed the newest ‘Ethereum killer.’ SOL is now up by 300 percent in the past month alone and has overtaken Dogecoin to rank seventh on the chart of the most valuable cryptocurrencies.

At press time, SOL is trading at $145, having set an intra-day high at $150.43. The cryptocurrency now has a market cap of $42 billion.

Solana has now shot past Dogecoin, one of the most stellar performers of the year after receiving support from the likes of Elon Musk and a bevy of other celebrities. The cryptocurrency launched in 2017 but is now worth more than giants such as Lloyds Banking Group, Electronic Arts and Ferrari.

Solana’s rise has caught even some experts off-guard and left them unable to call the top

Speaking to CNF, Yuri Mazur, the head of data analytics at CEX.IO exchange stated:

The price of Solana (SOL) is on the uptrend today as the blockchain is currently showcasing its potentials in serving as a viable alternative hub for all things Decentralized Finance and Non-Fungible Tokens. The 60% growth of Solana to $145 [in the past week]is steered positively by the increasing demand for the tokens for use in minting thousands of NFTs being launched on the Solana blockchain.

Is Solana the ultimate Ethereum killer?

Solana is just the latest major project riding the wave to the top on the narrative of being the ultimate Ethereum killer. The top altcoin is the home of DeFi, NFTs and seemingly every other major innovation in the blockchain space. However, it has been a victim of its own success, with high fees and its lack of scalability posing a major challenge.

Cardano rode the wave to become the third-largest cryptocurrency with the same narrative, despite the project not even having smart contract capabilities. Polkadot has also become branded the ultimate Ethereum killer in the past, with Dr Gavin Wood, the founder of the project having been one of the key figures that founded Ethereum.

Mazur told CNF:

Solana is still proving itself to be a resilient and a better alternative to Ethereum, whose high transaction costs are still a factor drawing some people away from the blockchain and its accompanying protocols for transactions.

However, it’s still not yet time to crown Solana as the new Ethereum killer, the data wizard believes.

Solana has a long way to go in terms of becoming a major DeFi and NFT infrastructure. Taking Ethereum head-on is a way for the blockchain to establish its mark, however, to sustain its growth, better upgrades and features must be unveiled to beat competition from other blockchains, including Cardano.