Solana Meme Coins Plunge 29–79% as Traders Shift to BNB Chain Meme Markets

Solana's latest price was $178.03, down 7.905% in the last 24 hours. The recent market activity has reflected broader volatility in the crypto space, particularly in the Solana-based meme coin sector. Over the past month, several high-profile Solana meme coins have experienced significant declines in value. Tokens such as SPARK, HOUSE, MICHI, TROLL, and URANUS have lost between 29% and 79% of their value, indicating a notable shift in market sentiment and a cooling in the once-hyped meme coin market. The decline has been attributed to reduced speculative interest and a shift in trader focus toward alternative blockchain ecosystems.

SPARK has been the hardest hit, with a 79% drop in value over the last 30 days. HOUSE followed closely with a 49% decline, while tokens like AVA, UFD, FWOG, MYRO, and FARTCOIN have also seen losses in the 24–27% range. This widespread decline highlights a broader trend of waning interest and liquidity in the Solana meme coin market. As traders move their capital between different tokens and narratives, the overall market remains in a fragile state, with most Solana-based meme coins currently showing negative performance. This shift has also been driven by a growing interest in meme coins built on the BNB Chain, which have attracted attention due to their higher volume and fee generation.

The migration of capital has placed additional pressure on Solana’s meme coin market, with weaker assets facing increased liquidity challenges. One of the most notable examples is the “The Four” meme coin, which has generated $14.5 million in seven-day fees—nearly double the volume of Pump.fun. This level of activity has drawn attention away from Solana’s meme ecosystem, compounding the existing decline. Analysts suggest that this shift is driven by a combination of profit-taking, fading enthusiasm, and reduced trading depth, all of which are contributing to the ongoing correction phase.

Despite the overall downturn, activity among larger and more informed traders—referred to as smart money—has been mixed. According to data from Stalkchain, these investors have shown increased but erratic levels of buying and selling over the past week. Between October 4 and 10, for example, there was a $1 million inflow on October 7 and 10, followed by an $800,000 outflow, indicating short-term profit-taking and a lack of long-term conviction. This behavior reflects the uncertainty currently dominating the market and suggests that a sustained recovery may require a stronger and more consistent buying trend before it can take hold.

Meanwhile, the Solana network itself has demonstrated its robust performance under extreme conditions. On October 11, the network experienced its largest-ever stress test, processing a peak of 100,000 transactions per second during a period of massive liquidation. According to the Solana core development team, the network remained stable throughout the event, with the Agave validation client successfully handling six times the usual peak traffic without any performance degradation. This achievement highlights Solana’s capacity to manage high transaction volumes during periods of market turbulence, reinforcing its reputation as a high-performance blockchain platform.

During the same period, the broader crypto market saw over $597 million in liquidations within 24 hours, driven by a post-all-time-high correction in Bitcoin and suspected institutional selling activity. Solana-based DeFi protocols such as Serum and Raydium played a key role in processing the high transaction volume, further demonstrating the network’s real-world utility. The network's ability to handle such large-scale operations without experiencing downtime or performance issues is a key factor in its growing appeal among developers and enterprise users.

Performance metrics from the event underscore Solana’s competitive edge over other major blockchains. Its peak transaction processing rate of 100,000 TPS far exceeds Ethereum’s 15–30 TPS and Visa’s 24,000 TPS, showcasing its ability to handle massive transaction loads. Additionally, the Agave client’s ability to process 60 million compute units per block—well above the standard 48 million—without performance issues highlights the efficiency of Solana’s hybrid Proof-of-History and Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanisms. These features ensure that the network remains stable and responsive, even during high-stress market events.

Recent updates to the Solana network have further enhanced its capabilities. The Agave client received a v2.3 upgrade, which includes a new TPU client, reduced disk I/O, and improved snapshot functionality. These improvements have contributed to higher throughput and increased multi-client resiliency, reinforcing the network’s reliability during high-traffic scenarios. Despite some reports of failed transactions, the network continued to operate without interruption, maintaining full service availability. The Agave client now supports over 13% of the total Solana stake, while the Firedancer client accounts for 8%, reflecting a growing confidence in the network’s infrastructure.

Circle also recently expanded its presence on Solana by minting an additional 250 million USDC tokens. This move highlights the growing importance of Solana in the stablecoin ecosystem and is expected to support increased liquidity and adoption for DeFi applications. The increased supply of USDC on Solana reinforces the network’s role as a key player in the broader crypto landscape and supports its growing ecosystem of developers and users.

Overall, recent developments have highlighted Solana’s resilience and adaptability in the face of market volatility. While the meme coin market remains in a correction phase, the underlying infrastructure of Solana continues to demonstrate strong performance and scalability. These factors position Solana as a key player in the evolving blockchain ecosystem, capable of supporting a wide range of applications and services with high throughput and stability. As the platform continues to evolve, it remains well-positioned to serve as a leading infrastructure provider for decentralized finance, gaming, and NFTs.