Fundamentals vs. Flows: Solana User Growth Surges 124% Despite Short-Term Price Pressure

On-chain analytics company Santiment has drawn attention to a sharp increase in Solana use and strong network activity as a strong long-term bullish indicator. Early September 2026 saw a 124% increase in Solana's network expansion as first-time participating wallets added about 1.71 million additional wallets each day. At the same time, over the same period, daily active addresses increased 58% to some 4.27 million distinct transacting wallets. The basic idea of Santiment is network effect basics: over time, sustainable growth in active users and real ecosystem utility build up to create the basis for a future re-rating in total market value.

This growing user base clearly deviates from current institutional fund movements and spot market pricing activity. Over three straight trading sessions ending October 7, U.S. spot Solana ETFs showed total net outflows of about $17.7 million, while SOL's spot price fell between 1.6% and 3.5% as the general market was risk-off. The present scene shows a traditional tension between underlying retail and application-layer development and near-term institutional conservatism. Although technical support levels still need to be recovered, the fundamental facts point to organic consumption quickening regardless of more general economic headwind.

For market experts looking at valuation dynamics, following this difference between on-chain adoption statistics and ETF capital flows gives crucial tactical background. Cross-referencing user growth against network fee income—which increased 50% quarter-over-quarter in Q3—helps to determine whether user acquisition results in long-term monetizable throughput. If daily wallet creation and active transaction addresses stay high, historical patterns show that spot prices could finally catch up with network activity once institutional outflows level off.