Solana's DePIN Projects Boost User Activity by 900% in February

Solana's decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) experienced a notable resurgence in February, with key projects such as Hivemapper and Helium Mobile gaining significant traction. Helium Mobile, in particular, saw a ninefold increase in users, reaching 145,000, marking the highest growth rate in a year. This surge in user activity was driven by the introduction of new mapping devices, which tripled the demand for Hivemapper, a community-driven alternative to google Maps.

The resurgence of DePIN projects has the potential to serve as a beneficial catalyst for sol, especially following a significant cool-off in memecoin mania. The memecoin craze, which had driven significant interest and value to Solana's decentralized exchange (DEX) volumes, began to wane, negatively impacting SOL's overall value. During the peak dex volume of $3 billion in January, SOL reached a record high of $295, driven by the debut of the TRUMP memecoin. However, DEX volumes dropped by 60% afterwards, dragging SOL to its 2024 support level above $120.

The resurgence of DePIN could potentially fill the void left by meme coins and boost SOL's value. An evaluation of active addresses by AMBCrypto revealed that during the TRUMP meme-coin craze, the average number of active Solana addresses surged to 5.7 million in mid-January but declined later. A slight increase in February to 4.4 million from 4.1 million coincided with the traction of DePIN. However, the number of users declined later in February, dropping to 2.7 million. By mid-March, the figure appeared to stabilize at 3.11 million active addresses, representing a 45% decrease in network activity from the peak reached in January.

This indicates that while DePIN may have provided some relief for activity in February, memecoin activity continued to be a primary driver within the Solana ecosystem. At the time of writing, SOL was valued at $130 and held above its key 2024 support zone. Whether the $120 support would prevent further correction remained to be seen.