Solana is witnessing a dramatic surge in new wallet creations, even as its token value declines. This phenomenon highlights some challenging truths about how we assess growth in the blockchain space.
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According to Santiment, an on-chain analytics firm, Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) has experienced a 124% increase in new addresses since early September 2026. This equates to approximately 1.71 million new wallets being created daily. Moreover, as of October 7, the number of addresses holding stablecoins on the network exceeded 14 million, setting a new record.
Conversely, the price of SOL has decreased. On October 9, SOL was valued at nearly $111, a 9% decline within the week and approximately 62% below its peak of $293. Despite this decrease, there was a 7% uptick over the preceding 30 days. Just four days ago, SOL was trading at $121.
Given the influx of new wallets on Solana, why isn’t the SOL price rising correspondingly?
Solana’s 124% Growth: Counting Wallets, Not Users
The growth statistic reported by Santiment reflects the rise in network addresses, indicating how many have been created on the blockchain for the first time. Each address functions like a public account number, and establishing one is easy and free, allowing individuals or algorithms to create numerous addresses.
This growth might be driven by those seeking airdrops using various wallets to qualify for free token distributions, alongside trading bots and exchanges that manage numerous accounts. Consequently, each new address inflates the growth figures. It’s worth noting that Solana’s impressive transaction volume also skews perceptions, as automated trading accounted for roughly 5.2 billion non-vote transactions in August alone.
The 14 million stablecoin addresses hold more significance since users must transfer actual dollars to Solana to possess stablecoins there. Nonetheless, like the address count, this statistic may also reflect multiple addresses per individual user.
Growth on Solana Doesn’t Require Much SOL Purchase
The fees associated with transactions serve as the primary link between network activity and the price of SOL, as each transaction incurs a small fee paid in SOL. Solana’s design emphasizes cost-efficiency, so even with billions of transactions, the fees collected are minimal compared to its overall market capitalization, which is approximately $65 billion.
Additionally, many new users are attracted to Solana for trading dollar-pegged tokens rather than purchasing SOL itself. Investors can now trade tokenized shares of companies like Apple, Nvidia, and Tesla on Solana, with stablecoin holders needing only a small amount of SOL for transaction fees.
Solana is continually enhancing speed, planning to cut its slot time—the duration for confirming each batch of transactions—to 200 milliseconds on October 9, down from 400 milliseconds early this year. Shorter transaction times enhance payment processing and improve the trading experience, yet this doesn’t inherently boost demand for SOL.
SOL’s 9% Decrease Linked to ETF Outflows
In the short term, SOL’s pricing tends to respond to money flowing in and out of investments. U.S. spot Solana ETFs recorded a net outflow of roughly $17.7 million over three consecutive days from October 5 to October 7, as reported by SoSoValue, following a prior week of just $2.4 million in inflows.
A net outflow indicates that more funds were withdrawn from these ETFs than deposited, leading fund managers to liquidate SOL to cover the withdrawals. This selling trend is far more directly associated with SOL’s price drop than the rise in new addresses.
Will Address Growth Impact the Price of SOL?
The rise in Solana addresses alone cannot drive up SOL’s price. New wallet creation is straightforward, and transaction numbers reflect network activity without indicating actual monetary value. Low fees further limit SOL demand. For stakeholders, the downside is that an active network can foster additional activity even as the token price drops, especially if investors keep pulling funds.
This situation could change if Solana ETFs witness consistent net inflows again, injecting new capital to bolster the token’s value. Should SOL recover from its recent 9% loss, it might indicate that buyers are supporting this surge in usage with their investments. However, if the recent 7% rise over 30 days turns into a downturn, the growth in addresses could merely be incidental.
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