Solana: How memecoins are driving the ‘SOL cycle’ narrative in H2

Traders usually name a market cycle after an asset when bullish sentiment reaches an extreme.

Currently, that seems to be happening with Solana [SOL]. Several traders who were bearish on SOL just weeks ago have now flipped bullish. The sudden shift was so noticeable that it even fueled speculation on social media, with some users questioning whether Solana was paying analysts to push a pro-SOL narrative.

More recently, Ansem added to the buzz by calling SOL undervalued and arguing that it has the potential for a 100x move, citing the network’s ecosystem upgrades and continued growth. The biggest talking point, however, came from another analyst who predicted that SOL could hit $1,000 this cycle, calling the current market phase the “Solana cycle.”

Technically, that target looks like a stretch.

Solana is still struggling to reclaim the $100 level, so a move to $1,000 this cycle remains a long shot. That said, the on-chain data is telling a different story. Over the past two weeks, the network has added more than 1.6 million new addresses, a sign that user activity continues to accelerate.

Meanwhile, around $120 million worth of SOL has been withdrawn from exchanges over the past week. Growing network activity combined with steady exchange outflows suggests demand is picking up while more holders are moving their tokens off trading platforms, reducing immediate sell-side pressure.

That said, Solana’s biggest growth catalyst may not be network expansion alone. Instead, the real momentum appears to be coming from sector-specific demand, making the idea of a “Solana cycle” heading into H2 less far-fetched than it first appears.

Memecoin demand strengthens Solana’s outlook

The memecoin market collapse is becoming a key driver of the 2026 cycle.

According to CoinMarketCap data, the total memecoin market cap has declined by over $10 billion so far this year and remains in the red, reflecting fading interest in meme-based tokens. Notably, this weakness is also visible in the data, with memecoin dominance falling sharply to 3.7%, its lowest level since February 2024.

However, Solana is clearly diverging from the broader market trend. As the chart shows, Solana-based memecoins have been in a steady uptrend since June, with Bonk [BONK] leading the move with over 13%+ gains during the period. Meanwhile, Pump.fun has climbed to the top spot by 24-hour DEX volume, surpassing Uniswap, as memecoin trading activity on Solana picks up again.

In simple terms, Solana network usage isn’t just driven by spot demand.

Instead, growth in new addresses has lined up with strong memecoin momentum on the network, showing that interest in Solana-based memes remains firm even as the broader memecoin market cools. That gives SOL a clear edge in the current setup.

So, while SOL may still be far from a $1,000 rally from a technical standpoint, the underlying demand and activity still support the idea of a “Solana cycle.” That keeps SOL a key altcoin to watch heading into H2.

Final Summary