Solana (SOL) gained 4 percent to $52.40 in the past 24 hours, extending its weekly advance to nearly 15 percent, supported by record $1.4 billion in DeFi transactions. Data from DefiLlama show total value locked on Solana surged to $1.26 billion, the highest since late 2022. Analysts credit rising DEX activity and NFT revival for driving liquidity. Solana now ranks fifth by market capitalization at $23.6 billion. Developers are rolling out protocol upgrades to cut latency and expand validator support ahead of network scaling initiatives in 2026.