Solana Sees Private Funding Surge to $173M in Q3 2024, Highest in 2 Years

As revealed in a new report from Messari Research, Solana projects secured a staggering $173 million in private funding rounds during the third quarter of 2024. This marks a monumental achievement, representing the highest quarterly funding total for Solana since Q2 2022. Notably, September alone contributed $103 million, making it the strongest month since June 2022. The consistent growth witnessed in each month of Q3 serves as a testament to the renewed investor confidence in the Solana ecosystem.

Exodus of Capital Post-FTX crash

This resurgence follows a difficult period after the FTX collapse in Q4 2022 when investor sentiment toward Solana plummeted. Mainstream media reports, including false claims that the blockchain had only 75 developers, exacerbated the situation, leading to a sharp reduction in funding. By Q3 2023, private funding for Solana projects had hit a low point, falling below $10 million for the quarter.

Despite these challenges, Solana builders continued to work with limited resources. Many investors withdrew during this period, but a core group with strong conviction in the blockchain kept pushing forward. As metrics improved and the ecosystem began to deliver on its potential, investor interest returned, leading to the current peak in private funding.

The funding surge also illuminates a common pattern in the crypto world: venture capitalists often follow trends and FOMO (fear of missing out) rather than recognizing value early. When Solana projects were undervalued and available at a discount, there was little interest. Now, with higher valuations, funding rounds are frequently oversubscribed, showcasing the dynamics of the crypto investment landscape.

Migration Trend

The resilience of the Solana community and its builder culture has been crucial in attracting investors back to the platform. The narrative of Solana's recovery also parallels a broader shift in project migration. In 2023, some notable projects, such as the NFT brands DeGods and y00ts, migrated from Solana to other ecosystems like Polygon and Ethereum following the FTX crash. However, as Solana gained momentum, the trend began to reverse, with projects like Helium ($1.2B market cap) and Render Network  ($2.8B market cap) migrating to Solana.

This growing mindshare is drawing a sea of new projects looking to move to the Solana blockchain. Br1an, the co-founder of the Unlonely app, recently announced his project's departure from Base to Solana. He tweeted, "My DMs are flooded with founders wanting to move from ETH and Base to Solana."

Solana's resurgence in private funding and its community's persistence reflect a powerful comeback story in the world of blockchain and decentralized technology.