Solana has reached a milestone of 100 million active wallets, yet data reveals that the majority of these wallets hold little to no SOL tokens. This rapid growth has sparked debates over the legitimacy of Solana’s activity, with many questioning whether bots are artificially inflating the numbers.
Explosive Growth in Active Wallets
According to blockchain analytics from Artemis Terminal, Solana’s monthly active wallet count has skyrocketed to over 100 million—an enormous leap from the 509,000 wallets recorded at the start of 2024. While this surge marks a new all-time high, critics are cautious about the figures. Data from Solana provider Hello Moon shows that over 86 million of these wallets hold 0 SOL, and around 15.5 million wallets contain less than 1 SOL.
Are Bots Inflating Solana’s Metrics?
Some blockchain experts suspect that this growth may not be entirely organic. Justin d’Anethan from Keyrock points out that most wallets have a lifetime value of under $10, which could indicate artificial inflation by bots. Dan Hughes, founder of Radix DLT, offers another explanation, suggesting that interactions with centralized exchanges (CEX) and DeFi platforms could be responsible for the high number of empty wallets. When users send funds to a CEX, they receive a proxy address, which quickly transfers tokens to a hot wallet, leaving the original wallet empty.
Recovery in Token Issuance and Account Growth
Despite the skepticism, Solana has seen a recovery in the creation of new SPL tokens and accounts. After a slow September, token issuance picked up again by late month, with at least 17,000 new tokens created daily, according to Solscan. Solana’s new account creation also surged, with over 10 million accounts added on October 8, doubling the previous day’s total.
Bot Activity: A Double-Edged Sword for Solana
Solana’s efficiency in offering fast transactions at low fees has made it vulnerable to bot-driven activity. According to Hughes, bots can inflate transaction numbers by frequently interacting with proxy addresses, making it seem like the network has more genuine users than it does. However, Austin Federa from the Solana Foundation argues that bot transactions still contribute to the network’s overall activity and fee structure, even if their economic value is lower.
Solana’s Role in DeFi and its Fee Structure
As of October 9, Solana ranked as the third-largest blockchain for decentralized finance (DeFi), with a total value locked (TVL) of $5.41 billion, trailing behind Ethereum’s $44.7 billion and Tron’s $7.4 billion. Solana’s low transaction fees, which averaged around $0.02 in late September, remain a significant draw for users compared to Ethereum’s higher gas fees.
Solana’s fee mechanism also plays a key role in its long-term inflation management. The network burns 50% of all transaction fees, helping to balance inflationary pressure from token emissions to validators. As network demand grows, more fees are burned, potentially reducing inflation over time.
Conclusion: Genuine Growth or Artificial Hype?
While Solana’s network is undeniably growing, with more active wallets and increasing transaction fees, the debate continues about how much of this growth is organic. Whether driven by bots or genuine users, Solana’s low fees and fast transactions continue to make it a compelling player in the blockchain space, especially for DeFi applications.
By understanding the nuances behind these metrics, investors and users can better gauge the true value of Solana’s growth and its potential for the future.
