- Solana's SOL token jumped past $100 for the first time on Monday.
- Solana's market capitalization has swelled to more than $32 billion during a price surge in August.
- Cardano's founder Charles Hoskinson praised Solana's business in a Tweet on Sunday.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Solana's SOL token surged above $100 for the first time on Monday, with a recent mix of projects and interest from institutional investors propelling the altcoin up by more than 200% as August winds down.
The token soared by 24% to hit an intraday high of $116.85 and its market capitalization surged to $32.8 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.com. Solana ranks as the cryptocurrency market's eighth-largest digital asset by capitalization, ahead of stablecoin USDC and Polkadot. Solana is widely regarded as a competitor to Ethereum, a blockchain platform on which so-called smart contracts are built.
Solana notched a 217% gain for August during Monday's session, with one day left to go in the month. There appeared to be some excitement Monday after Charles Hoskinson, the founder of blockchain Cardano and co-founder of Ethereum, late Sunday congratulated Solana on its business progress in a Twitter message to Solana.
Solana has been gaining attention in recent weeks related to a number of projects based on Solana's blockchain, including a popular NFT collection called the Degenerate Ape Academy. The digital art collection sold out on a marketplace on the Solana network earlier this month. Solana is also home to Serum, a decentralized exchange founded by crypto-billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried.
Last week, digital asset investment firm Osprey Funds registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission for approval to launch the Osprey Solana Trust, highlighting interest from institutional investors. Institutional investors pushed $2.7 million in inflows for Solana products last week, said CoinShares in a weekly update on Monday. A week earlier, investors poured in $7.1 million into Solana products and funds, outpacing all other digital assets, said the digital asset management company.