• Solana’s Jupiter Exchange has surpassed Uniswap in daily trading volume.
• The airdrop season on Solana is a big catalyst for this mega jump.

In a recent development, Jupiter, a Decentralized Exchange (DEX) aggregator based on the Solana blockchain, has emerged as a frontrunner, surpassing the trading volumes of the renowned Ethereum-based Uniswap. 

While it has an impressive $513,076,622 in the last 24 hours as against Uniswap’s $475,969,111 according to data from CoinGecko, Jupiter’s trading activity has not only taken the lead but has also garnered attention for its role in a memecoin frenzy and heightened stablecoin swaps.

Factors Contributing to Jupiter’s Increased Trading Volume

Jupiter’s trading dominance is partly attributed to the fervor surrounding a new memecoin called “Wen.” This experimental digital asset, created by Jupiter developers, attracted traders, contributing over $50 million to Jupiter’s daily trading volume. Wen could be claimed by any Solana user who had interacted with Jupiter in the last six months and owners of Solana’s Saga phone.

Another key factor, however, is the highly anticipated airdrop of Jupiter’s native token, JUP, which is set to begin on January 31. Currently trading at around $0.64, the pre-market JUP tokens are causing a stir in the community. The estimated total value of the 1 billion token JUP airdrop could exceed $600 million at current prices, making it a notable event in the crypto space.

With a large subscriber base on YouTube, InvestAnswers, a prominent crypto expert, has hailed JUP as “one of the hottest tokens of the year” for 2024. This recognition further underscores Jupiter’s growing importance in the crypto market. The surge in trading volume on Jupiter is a testament to its increasing velocity and popularity within the crypto community, even before the official launch of the JUP token.

What sets Jupiter apart is its inclusive approach to the JUP token airdrop. A sizable portion of the airdrop, totaling 40% of JUP’s total supply, is eligible for almost 1 million Solana wallets. This reflects the platform’s broad appeal among crypto enthusiasts and aligns with Jupiter’s mission to seek the best prices by routing token buy and sell orders through multiple on-chain trading venues.

Crypto Airdrop Trend

Jupiter’s success is not isolated, as the crypto ecosystem witnesses a flurry of airdrop announcements. Projects like AltLayer and Dymension are embracing airdrops to reward their users, adding to the excitement in the market. AltLayer recently announced a $100 million airdrop, while Dymension plans to distribute 70 million DYM tokens, valued at approximately $210 million at pre-market prices, to eligible users.

Moreover, Solana has recently announced the introduction of new token extensions to enhance functionality within the ecosystem. 

This development, part of the SPL token evolution, is akin to Ethereum’s ERC-20 token standard. Solana aims to adopt version 1.17 by February 2024, potentially enabling confidential transfers and further advancing its position in the crypto space. 

At press time, SOL was trading for $97.02, reflecting a 1.23% gain in the past day, with a market capitalization of approximately $42 billion and a trading volume above $2 billion.