Solana has once again made some major strides in the tech and crypto sectors. The Solana Mobile 2, their latest smartphone offering, received over 30,000 pre-orders in the first 30 hours, surpassing the Saga’s total sales. In the stablecoin arena, Solana's blockchain experienced a massive surge in transfer volume, exceeding $300 billion in January alone. Additionally, the Solana Foundation joined the Crypto Council for Innovation. This means that Solana is now at the forefront of advocating for sensible and clear Web3 regulations and advancing blockchain for social good.
Solana Mobile 2 Captures Market with 30K Pre-orders
Solana has made a huge splash in the mobile market over the past week, with the Solana Mobile 2 receiving more than 30,000 pre-orders in the first 30 hours of its announcement. This means that Mobile 2 sales have already surpassed the total sales of its predecessor.
The new device maintains the Android-based platform of its predecessor but still brings several enhancements to the table. It includes a built-in crypto wallet and a seed vault, which provides enhanced security for users' digital assets. Additionally, it features a dedicated decentralized application (DApp) store.
Priced at a competitive $450, the Solana Mobile 2 positions itself as a much more affordable alternative to its previous version, the Saga, which was priced at $599. This pricing strategy seems to have paid off considering the massive amounts of pre-orders. So far, Solana has promised to deliver the new model in the first half of 2025.
In a light-hearted twist, the Solana team made some humorous boasts about the Mobile 2's pre-order success, comparing it to the Apple Vision Pro. However, a closer look reveals a timing mismatch in this comparison. The Apple Vision Pro pre-orders had not yet begun at the time of Solana's announcement. While Solana's claim of outperforming the Apple product holds true for a brief period, it's set against the backdrop of the Apple Vision Pro not yet entering the pre-order phase.
Solana co-founder Anatoly Yakovenko humorously acknowledged the timing aspect of their claim with a meme, adding a touch of humor to the competitive spirit between the two tech giants.
Solana Hits New Stablecoin Milestone
Solana’s mobile phone orders are not the only thing capturing the crypto community’s attention at the moment. The Solana blockchain also witnessed a massive surge in stablecoin transfer volume. According to data from the blockchain analytics platform Artemis, the volume of stablecoin transfers on Solana exceeded $300 billion in January alone. This figure surpasses the $297 billion recorded in December of 2023 and represents a 2,520% increase from the $11.56 billion seen in January of 2023.
Solana's market share in the stablecoin sector has also seen quite a rise, reaching almost 32%, a big jump from the 1.2% share it held a year ago. This growth in stablecoin activity on Solana started to accelerate in October of 2023 and has since increased by 650%. The increase is partly attributed to the growing adoption of USD Coin (USDC) transfers on the Solana network.
Despite Ethereum maintaining its position as the industry leader in stablecoin transfer volume with $317 billion this month, accounting for over 33% of the market share, Solana is rapidly closing the gap. On Jan. 16, Artemis reported that weekly stablecoin volumes across all networks had hit a yearly high, mainly due to the activity on Solana.
Adding to Solana's stablecoin ecosystem, Paxos announced the launch of its regulated stablecoin, USDP, on the Solana blockchain on Jan. 18. Naturally, this move is expected to further boost the stablecoin activity on the Solana network.
Alongside the rise in stablecoin volumes, Solana also experienced an increase in decentralized finance (DeFi) activities. The total value locked in DeFi on Solana has reached its highest level since September of 2022, standing at around $1.36 billion, according to data from DefiLlama.
Circle and Solana Foundation Join Forces with Crypto Council for Innovation
Meanwhile, The Crypto Council for Innovation, an industry alliance deeply involved in policy matters, recently made new strides in expanding both its membership and its team. This past week, the council welcomed Circle and the Solana Foundation as new members, joining a robust group of firms that includes industry leaders like Andreessen Horowitz and Fidelity Digital Assets.
In a strategic move to increase its influence in the policy realm, the council also brought on board two new policy-related hires. Ryan Eagen has been appointed as the associate director of government affairs. Eagen brings valuable experience from his previous role in the office of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Complementing this appointment is Patrick Kirby, who joins as policy counsel. Kirby's background in government relations at the law firm Dentons adds another layer of expertise to the council's upgraded policy team.
These appointments come at a very crucial time for the U.S. crypto sector, which recently celebrated a victory with the SEC's approval of Spot Bitcoin ETFs. This is especially interesting when considering the context of the current presidential election year.
The Solana Foundation, one of the new members of the Crypto Council for Innovation, expressed enthusiasm about joining the alliance. In a statement, the Foundation emphasized its commitment to collaborating on responsible innovation, advocating for sensible Web3 regulations, and advancing blockchain technology for social good. This sentiment reflects the broader goals of the council, which is actively engaged in various policy issues, ranging from anti-money laundering (AML) rules in Europe to Coinbase’s ongoing legal battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
