Orca has emerged as one of the most bought tokens over the past week, driven by interest in decentralized exchanges (DEX) and decentralized finance (DeFi) projects. Other prominent tokens included those from Layer 1 (L1) and Layer 2 (L2) solutions, meme coins, and AI-based projects.
ORCA leads the pack
ORCA’s market capitalization grew by 62.3%, rising from lows of $1.50 to reach $2.80. This significant increase places it among the top gainers for the week. The Solana-based DEX project benefited from a broader revival of Solana tokens, including MEW and WIF. Increased interest in Web3 and decentralized finance was evident in other top-performing tokens. Helium and Jito experienced growth due to rising transaction volumes on Solana.
OpenChat (CHAT) saw a price surge, anticipating its listing on Lbank and Bitrue on August 1st. Ramses Exchange (RAM) also rallied after launching a new incentive program despite being highly volatile with a fully diluted market cap of $22 million. Maple Finance (MPL) gained over 54% after months of gradual increases in volume and value locked throughout 2024.
ORCA’s trading activity intensified, with more than 11% of its tokens traded daily. Despite this rally, ORCA’s trading volume remains lower than its previous bull cycle, with $15 million daily trades. Orca DEX, although smaller, is following a trend of increased trading, with its value locked under $300 million and receiving inflows from the Jupiter DEX aggregator. Solana-based projects are trending, with SOL approaching the $200 mark, which is predicted to grow further in 2024.
Skepticism and market trends
Some are skeptical about ORCA’s recent price action, with concerns that it may be driven by deliberate price manipulation rather than organic growth. The token’s volume relies heavily on Coinbase, leading some traders to take profits and potentially disrupt the rally. However, ORCA’s growth reflects the broader DEX tokens and Solana-based activity trend. The Orca DEX accounts for about 4.17% of all trading volumes, making it the fourth most active DEX after Uniswap, Raydium, and PancakeSwap.
The increase in Solana-based DeFi projects contributes to the growth of Raydium and Orca. The total value locked on Solana stands at $5.27 billion, with some projects seeing significant inflows. Solana’s trading activity includes about 50% of transactions conducted by bots, but there has been a notable increase in the number of individual traders. Retail buyers also show more interest in Solana, particularly in smaller orders under $100, highlighting the constant minting and trading of new meme tokens.
Smart money and potential gainers
Smart money traders have identified several tokens as potential gainers based on recent behaviors from top wallets. Tokens like MakerDAO (MKR), Ondo (ONDO), Bittensor (TAO), and Injective (INJ) have seen significant purchases by whale wallets. Chainlink (LINK) is also undergoing re-accumulation, with a drawdown of LINK tokens from centralized exchanges predicting potential rallies in the fall of 2023.
Various significant narratives have driven price spikes over the past month. Meme coins led the pack in volume, followed by increased activity in AI projects and L1 and L2 tokens. These trends indicate a dynamic market landscape with new investor opportunities.