In what has been one of the most bullish months of the year, asset manager and crypto exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuer VanEck released a report highlighting significant gains in the memecoin sector, alongside notable performances from major cryptocurrencies like Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), Polkadot (DOT), and Stellar (XLM).

According to VanEck’s analysis, Solana delivered a 42% return in November, with the SOL token hitting an all-time high of $262. This increase was largely driven by a surge in on-chain trading activity related to memecoins, which led the general market rally with a 95% increase during the month.  

This drove Solana’s revenues and decentralized exchange (DEX) volumes to unprecedented levels. In fact, Solana generated $177 million in revenue in November, doubling the previous month’s high of $74 million. 

This rush of activity also benefited projects such as Jito and Pump.fun, which generated revenues of $185 million and over $92 million, respectively.

Jito operates as an on-chain application that generates revenue through maximal extracted value (MEV), which is derived from arbitrage opportunities created during DEX trading. Meanwhile, Pump.fun captures revenue directly from memecoin trading, showcasing the dual benefits of Solana’s vibrant ecosystem.

Solana’s success was further underscored by its wallet, Phantom, claiming the top spot in Apple’s “free utility apps” category, and Robinhood reinstating SOL trading on its platform. 

In addition, the popular non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace Magic Eden announced an upcoming token airdrop, which is expected to stimulate further on-chain trading.

Cardano’s ADA was another standout performer in November, achieving an impressive 201% increase. This rally was spurred by off-chain developments and speculation surrounding the influence of Cardano’s founder, Charles Hoskinson, in shaping future crypto policy. 

Following Hoskinson’s announcement of establishing a crypto policy office in Washington, D.C., ADA experienced a significant price surge. 

The upward momentum continued with Robinhood’s relisting of ADA and an update to Cardano’s governance structure, which emphasized on-chain decision-making by ADA holders. On-chain usage metrics reflected Cardano’s price movement, with total value locked (TVL) surging by 180% as various Cardano project tokens rallied. 

However, despite these gains, Cardano’s absolute figures in stablecoins and daily DEX volumes remain modest compared to Ethereum (ETH), highlighting a potential area for growth.

Polkadot, often viewed as an underperformer in the crypto space, also saw a surprising rally in November. While its ecosystem has struggled with slow onboarding and technical challenges, recent developments, particularly from the Mythos Chain—a gaming blockchain hosting popular titles like NFL Rivals—have invigorated interest. 

Polkadot’s founder, Gavin Wood, also unveiled plans for a more agile architecture, allowing for enhanced interoperability and cloud-like services, which could position Polkadot favorably against other crypto assets like Ethereum and Celestia.

In the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, major protocols such as Aave, Uniswap, and Sky (formerly MakerDAO) demonstrated strength, with significant fee increases and market activity. 

Aave crossed a milestone of $30 billion in deposits, positioning it among the largest banks by deposits if it were a traditional institution. Meanwhile, Uniswap’s  market position was bolstered by a favorable court ruling regarding the legality of immutable smart contracts, which spurred a substantial increase in its market capitalization.

At the time of writing, SOL trades at $236, up nearly 3% in the past 24 hours

Featured image from DALL-E, chart from TradingView.com

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