Solana's sol token rallies over 20% to record highs and overtakes dogecoin in market value, driven by the surge in new NFT projects

• Solana's sol jumped by as much as 24% on Friday to hit $146.37, its highest level on record.
• It's now the 7th biggest coin by market capitalization at $42 billion, pushing doge down into 8th place.
• Solana has gained popularity for its DeFi capabilities, including smart contracts, and its scalability.

Solana's sol hit an all-time high on Friday, extending a run that has seen it double in value in the space of two weeks, thanks in part to the booming popularity of crypto applications such as non-fungible tokens.

Sol rallied by as much as 24% to a high of $146.37 earlier in the day and was last up around 8% at $138.83. Its market value is now around $42 billion, according to Coinmarketcap, meaning it has knocked dogecoin at $38 billion into 8th place in terms of market capitalization.

So-called alt-coins have rallied sharply in recent weeks. That's thanks in part to a series of network upgrades and to the growing capabilities of various blockchains, including solana, to house applications such as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or decentralized finance (DeFi) projects.

"The love for Solana is best attributed to the growing opportunities its NFT capabilities are ushering in," Yuri Mazur, head of data analytics at CEX.IO broker, told Insider.

"To catch on the innovative NFT projects being rolled out atop the blockchain, users need to hold a certain amount of sol tokens to mint their favorite NFTs. This added use case of sol is causing an increased demand for the digital currency, and ultimately, for its price," he said.

Sol's popularity centers on the Solana blockchain's DeFi capabilities, including the smart contracts that make it a rival to ethereum. It currently hosts around 400 projects on its network.

"Various digital currencies have their distinctive traits, and solana is not an exception. Bolstered by the scalability of its underlying blockchain network, the coin comes very handy for cheap transactions, offering a more required convenience to users," Mazur said.

Sol's whitepaper was released by Solana's founder and CEO Anatoly Yakovenko in 2017. It was released on the Binance cryptocurrency exchange in April 2020, when it debuted at around $0.21.

"At this rate, nothing is likely to stump the growth of the coin from crossing beyond the $200 price mark in the next two weeks. With the positive sentiment the digital currency has garnered in the NFT metaverse, this new high may be attained sooner than later," Mazur said.

"No doubt, Solana can compete with the top 10 and reach the top 5," Dmitry Mishunin, founder and CEO of HashEX, a smart contract audit company said.

The top five cryptocurrencies by market cap are bitcoin, ether, cardano's ada, binance coin and the tether stablecoin, according to data from Coinmarketcap.