Data & Insights: Solana's Comeback, Bitcoin's Fee Dynamics, and Coinbase's Strategic Moves

Solana's Comeback

After a temporary dip, Solana has witnessed a revival, thanks in part to the WEN memecoin airdrop to over a million wallets. Active addresses rebounded from 580k to 767k, with new addresses hitting a record 458k. Despite a price recovery from $80 to $99, Solana's DEX volume ratio to Ethereum's has decreased from 40% at its peak to 17.6%, indicating a potential area for recovery.

Bitcoin's Transaction Fee Shift

A significant shift has been observed in Bitcoin's transaction fees, surpassing Ethereum's since December 6th, with fees peaking over $30 compared to Ethereum's $12. This change, attributed to the popularity of Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens, marks a departure from the historical norm where Ethereum dominated in fee amounts due to its complex transactions and DeFi demand. Currently, Bitcoin's average fee has adjusted to $6.09, only slightly higher than Ethereum's, suggesting a potential trend reversal in fee structures.

Coinbase's Mixed Fortunes

Coinbase has seen notable achievements, including becoming the custodian for eight spot bitcoin ETFs and potentially gaining an advantage in its SEC lawsuit hearing . However, these victories haven't translated into improved stock performance or App Store rankings, with the company's Finance app ranking dropping from 16th to 43rd. The introduction of Bitcoin ETFs poses a new challenge to Coinbase's trading business, as investors now have the option to invest in Bitcoin through ETFs in their brokerage accounts, often at lower fees than Coinbase.

Coinbase's liquid staking product on the other hand experienced a surge in interest on January 19th, with cbETH tokens increasing by 14,800. However, Coinbase's venture into liquid staking, along with its other staking services, has faced regulatory scrutiny, particularly from the SEC, viewing it as an investment contract . Despite this, the recent spike in cbETH indicates sustained interest in Coinbase's staking services, even as it navigates legal hurdles.

Ethereum's ETF Speculation

Ether has outperformed, spurred by speculation of an upcoming spot ether ETF approval. Despite delays from the SEC, optimism remains high, particularly with BlackRock's interest in issuing an ether ETF. Ethereum options volumes reached a record $18.9 billion in January, with a bullish sentiment evident in the predominance of call options . The future of an ether ETF remains uncertain , but investor speculation continues to drive interest.

Data & Insights is a weekly newsletter and article series by The Block Research Analyst Rebecca Stevens that highlights recent trends and top charts from The Block’s Data Dashboard . Sign-up to receive Data & Insights in your inbox every Monday for free. Previous articles in the series are available with a subscription to The Block Pro .