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Solana’s active address count has surpassed 100 million, a steep increase from the reported 509,000 at the start of 2024. However, most active wallets reportedly do not hold any Solana (SOL). Analysis shows that over 86 million users held no SOL, while 15.5 million held less than 1 SOL, and about 1.5 million held under 10 SOL. Despite accusations that bot activity is inflating the numbers, experts argue that these transactions still contribute to the network’s activity and economy. Meanwhile, despite a recent increase in transaction fees, Solana remains noticeable for its quick transactions and low fees compared to other blockchains.

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Wow! Solana’s active address count just shot past a whopping 100 million, that’s the highest it’s ever been guys! According to Artemis Terminal, folks who keep their blockchain data straight, this is a major leap from the 509,000 monthly active addresses they had back at the start of 2024.

But here’s a twist, reports suggest that most active wallets on Solana don’t actually have any Solana (SOL). Some that have their doubts are thinking this massive growth might be due to bots pumping up the numbers – a claim that often pops up whenever Solana rocks it.

Looking at numbers from Solana data provider Hello Moon, more than 86 million users had zip SOL in their wallets over the last month. Around 15.5 million users held less than 1 SOL, and about 1.5 million users held less than 10 SOL.

But before you get your pitchforks out, Justin d’Anethan, who oversees business development in the Asia-Pacific region for market maker Keyrock, says while it’s true most Solana addresses are worth less than 10 bucks, it doesn’t mean there’s something fishy going on. He even acknowledges Solana’s super active ecosystem and the strong performance of its token.

Here’s something else to think about from Dan Hughes, who founded a decentralized finance platform called Radix DLT. He reckons it’s possible that many zero-balance wallets are interacting with centralized exchanges or DeFi applications.

Solana has seen a growth spurt of new accounts and tokens issued on the network, and folks have noticed. Its critics are quick to suggest that it’s flooded with bots faking activity. But Austin Federa, head of strategy at the Solana Foundation, defends this by saying that despite being of lower value economically, bot transactions are still transactions.

To add to that, Solana is known for its speedy transactions and low fees. Even with transaction fees doubling in late September, they’re still low at around $0.02. That’s just 0.67% of Ethereum’s median gas fee of $3!

As of Oct. 9, Solana is currently the third-biggest blockchain for DeFi with a locked value of $5.41 billion. In comparison, Ethereum, the top dog in the DeFi world, had $44.7 billion locked on the same day.

But here’s the thing: while Solana’s efficiency is cool and all, some think the network’s low fees and high transaction speed make it easy and often profitable for bots, inflating the network’s activity. However, not to forget that bots pay fees too, which technically contributes to the network’s inflation management in the long run.

Finally, with the recent increase in active wallets and the number of new SPL tokens, fees on the network have also gone up. Now, let’s see how this all pans out!

Source: Cointelegraph