The Solana blockchain network has experienced an unprecedented influx of new tokens this month, surpassing any previous records by a significant margin. According to data from Solscan, over the last two weeks alone, a staggering 72,202 new tokens have been minted on Solana using the SPL token standard. This number is more than 71 times the amount of tokens created during a comparable period in October.
Concerns About the Surge in Token Creation
The daily statistics for new token creation on Solana are now consistently four times higher than ever before since the network’s launch in 2020. While the Solana ecosystem has witnessed a remarkable revival in the past two months, driving up the value of SOL, Solana NFTs, Solana meme coins, and even demand for the Solana smartphone, the sudden surge in token creation cannot be solely attributed to organic growth in network activity.
Blockchain investigator and Sol Incinerator project lead, known as Slorg, raised concerns about the exponential rise in token creation. Slorg discovered a fake token for Sol Incinerator on Solana and tracked its on-chain transactions. The imposter had created dozens of new SOL coins on the same day, rapidly pumping and dumping each of them within minutes before moving on to the next token, including PUZZ, RUN, BABY DINO, and DEGEN BOT.
Slorg revealed that many of the approximately 7,000 tokens launched daily on Solana are churn-style tokens created to attract attention and exploit users monitoring the “recent” tab on platforms like Birdeye, a popular crypto trading data aggregator. Slorg even uncovered wallet trails where an individual had launched 300 tokens themselves in just one week.
“A lot of people tell me, ‘This is the entire point of crypto,’” Slorg said. “And it’s kind of demoralizing, because I think we can be so much more.”
It is important to note that not every hyped Solana meme coin is a short-lived rug pull. Some tokens, like BONK, have adhered to their roadmap and gained traction with the launch of features such as the BonkBot automated trading bot. BONK was developed by a team of prominent Solana builders and enjoys robust support within the ecosystem. Similarly, Dogwifhat has maintained a steady market cap since its launch.
Flood of Sham Coins
However, the success of a few tokens within the broader resurgence of Solana seems to have enticed numerous token deployers to flood the ecosystem with sham coins. Motivated by the prospect of making quick profits, these individuals launch tokens with the hope of achieving astronomical gains, disregarding the potential negative consequences.
“A lot of people tell me, ‘This is the entire point of crypto,’” Slorg said. “And it’s kind of demoralizing, because I think we can be so much more.”
As reported, Solana’s NFTs have also witnessed considerably higher trading volume, surpassing even that of Ethereum. Projects like Mad Lads and Tensorians have seen significant price increases, multiplying several times over in recent weeks. Moreover, the collective trading volume of Solana NFTs has now surpassed that of Ethereum, which traditionally leads in trading volume and hosts the most valuable projects.
