Amid the broader crypto market doldrums over the past several months, many investors may have missed a major milestone that Solana (SOL -1.55%) and the Solana non-fungible token (NFT) ecosystem just hit -- Solana generated more revenue in NFT sales over a 24-hour period than Ethereum (ETH -1.48%) for the first time.
Ethereum is the 800-pound gorilla in the room when it comes to NFTs, with projects like Crypto Kitties, Crypto Punks, and Bored Ape Yacht Club elevating NFTs into the mainstream, non-crypto consciousness for the first time. With world-renowned figures like rapper Jay-Z buying a CryptoPunk and Brazilian soccer star Neymar buying a Bored Ape, Ethereum ushered NFTs into their moment of arrival on the global stage.
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Major milestone
Given the large shadow that Ethereum casts over the crypto space, it was eye-opening to see Solana surpass Ethereum in terms of daily sales volume on May 24 into the morning of May 25, with Solana edging out Ethereum with $24.3 million in sales to Ethereum's $24 million for the day, according to data from CryptoSlam.
Solana overtook Ethereum for the day, thanks in large part to the release of a high-profile project called the Trippin' Ape Tribe. That project also surpassed all other individual NFT collections in sales for the day at $14.5 million. But this wasn't the first time an individual Solana collection topped the daily charts for an individual collection of NFTs. At the end of April, another popular project, Okay Bears, became the first known non-Ethereum NFT to lead all NFT collections in sales over a 24-hour period, with $18 million in sales on April 27.
Increased access
These milestones could become more commonplace in the near future. OpenSea, the world's largest NFT marketplace, valued at $13.3 billion in a recent fundraising round, recently began supporting Solana NFTs. OpenSea previously served exclusively as a marketplace for Ethereum and later Polygon (MATIC 0.46%) NFTs. Shortly thereafter, Rarible, an OpenSea competitor, quickly followed OpenSea's lead and enabled Solana NFTs on its platform.
While these newcomers will bring access to Solana NFTs to a broader group of collectors and investors, they will also be competing with Magic Eden, the already-thriving Solana-native NFT marketplace. Venture capital investor Li Jin recently found that Magic Eden had more weekly users than OpenSea over the prior seven days, along with higher transaction volume, although OpenSea still led in terms of total revenue for the week.
What does it mean?
Given the history and the high price points that many Ethereum NFTs boast, it is unlikely that Solana will permanently overtake Ethereum as the top blockchain for NFT sales -- at least not yet. But it is a sign that Solana NFTs are gaining traction and that Solana is firmly establishing itself as a legitimate rival to Ethereum in the NFT sphere as it gains more widespread mainstream appeal.
According to data from CryptoSlam, Solana has generated approximately $330 million in NFT sales over the past 30 days, compared to $3.1 billion in sales of Ethereum NFTs. Solana has established itself as a major player, but it still has a long way to go to catch Ethereum; this can also be seen as a positive as it has a lot of room to grow. While Ethereum is 10 times larger than Solana in terms of monthly sales, Solana dwarfs the next-most-popular blockchain, Flow (FLOW -0.21%), the home of NBA Top Shot NFTs, which clocks in at just under $23 million. The popularity of these NFTs is also good for Solana as a whole, drawing new users into the Solana network.
