Solana (SOL) PENGU set a record with 66.9 million daily transactions as a debut

Solana’s network activity came alive on Tuesday as the Pudgy Penguins NFT project debuted its PENGU token on the programmable blockchain.

The Layer 1 blockchain, considered a low-cost alternative to Ethereum, recorded 66.9 million transactions, the highest since its inception in 2020, according to data source Artemis. To highlight just how busy it is, Solana’s transaction numbers outstrip all other major chains combined.

Solana also led other blockchains in terms of daily decentralized exchange trade volume and daily active addresses, but trailed Base, Ethereum and Tron in terms of stablecoin transfer volume.

Since the beginning of the crypto bull run in early 2024, Solana has become the go-to blockchain for retail investors looking to make quick money from memecoins, NFTs, and other smaller tokens.

Tuesday was no different, as the original Pudgy Penguins, Lil Pudgys, Rogs and Soul Bound Tokens (SBT) holders lined up for the PENGU airdrop beginning at 08:00 ET. The project reported over 100,000 claims and over 4.7 million website views in the first hour.

PENGU debuted with a market cap of $2.3 billion, but has since fallen to $2 billion in value, according to Coingecko.

Solana’s token SOL rose 3.2% to $229 on Tuesday, trailing market leader bitcoin. However, the token struggled to maintain momentum today, falling to $217, likely signaling caution ahead. Fed rate decision.