The crypto bull run is gaining momentum, with all eyes on Bitcoin. However, memecoins are stealing attention, boosting the Solana ecosystem. Memecoins are popular for onboarding new users, as they promise quick or life-changing gains. The thrill of trading them feels like a casino rush, driving their appeal.
Traditionally, bull runs start with money flowing into Bitcoin, then large-cap altcoins, small caps, and finally memecoins and NFTs. This time, it’s different. The run began with Bitcoin, followed by a mix of last cycle’s large caps (Algorand, XRP, Cardano) and memecoins.
While the Base ecosystem seemed ready to lead the memecoin mania, Solana overtook it with the success of PumpFun.
Many crypto “influencers” are even speculating that a utility coin-driven bull run might not materialize this cycle, casting doubt on Ethereum’s potential for significant gains. As we know, smart money often accumulates undervalued or less visible coins with strong narratives and high success potential. Whenever a coin is being shilled on twitter or Youtube, it’s very important to do an extensive research and assess if it’s too late to get in.
Comparing Ethereum and Solana
Let’s compare Ethereum and Solana ecosystems to understand wether Ethereum is underperforming:
As of 20 November 2024
| Price | FDV | Volume (24h) | Circulating supply | TVL | |
| Ethereum | 3100$ | 373b | 28b | 120M | 59b |
| Solana | 234$ | 111b | 6.9b | 474M | 8b |
We can see that Solana has approximately four times more tokens in circulation than Ethereum. If Solana had four times fewer tokens in circulation to match Ethereum’s supply, its price could be closer to $1,000 (474/120×234=924$). When considering the supply factor, we can see that Ethereum is around 3 times more expensive than Solana (3100 vs 924).
Let’s see if Ethereum’s performance justifies being 3 times more expensive than Solana.
Performance comparison
| Latest revenu | Highest revenu | Transactions | |
| Ethereum | Around 3M per day | Around 203M per day (2022) | Around 1M per day |
| Solana | Around 5M per day | Around 5.5M per day (2024) | Around 51M per day |
If we compare the total value locked, we can see that it is 7 times higher on Ethereum than on Solana. This suggests that Ethereum is viewed as a more trusted chain, where institutions prefer to park assets with fewer transactions but larger amounts. The total value locked will increase rapidly as Ethereum gains in value.
The number of transactions on Solana is currently 51 times higher than Ethereum, however the revenue is only around 2 times higher (As of 20 november 2024 – with all the memecoin mania). While this cements Solana as a leader in transaction throughput, we can view this differently as it takes much more effort on Solana to produce the same revenue. We are also not taking into account all the bundled transactions that are validated on Ethereum through the different Layer2 solutions.
Another factor to consider is that Ethereum set a record revenue of $203 million in a single day in 2022, according to DeFiLlama. While this level of revenue may not be repeated anytime soon—especially with the Dencun upgrade and fee adjustments—it sets a significant milestone for Ethereum’s potential compared to Solana.
Memecoin mania
The memecoin mania will likely shift to other blockchains, particularly Ethereum L2s, as they attract fresh users with lower fees and faster transactions. However, this hype will probably fade toward the end of the bull run. Solana will face significant competition for memecoins in the short term and will need to pivot to new narratives, such as AI, to maintain its performance edge. While it’s likely that the memecoin craze will end with many investors losing money and realizing they were shilled on, the overall hype will eventually subside. This gives a direct strategic advantage to Ethereum.
Both Ethereum and Solana are strong projects that are likely to perform well during the bull run. However, it’s important to understand that the capital flowing into crypto can’t chase all projects at once. Money will rotate between different projects, selecting winners and losers, and shifting narratives multiple times along the way. Investors will aim to profit from the highs and lows of each rotation, ultimately exiting when the bull market begins to fade.
This is why it’s crucial not to fall for narratives or become emotionally attached to a project. Conducting your own research is essential to understand why certain narratives are being pushed and fed to you daily, often obscuring other potential opportunities.