|

Solana validators made over $25M in fees on Trump, Melania memecoins

  • Solana's validators experienced a record influx of over 100,000 SOL in fees and bribes.

  • The trading activity briefly raised passive income for stakers to 7.14% annually, while inflation rates fell below 5%.

Solana's validators experienced a record influx of over 100,000 SOL, worth nearly $25.8 million, in fees and tips due to intense trading activity of the TRUMP and MELANIA tokens.

The peak occurred on Jan. 20, with validators receiving over 87,000 SOL, driven largely by the TRUMP token's rally, before MELANIA attracted bets. The surge in activity led to 24.7 million transaction bundles to ensure success.

Of the 4.5 million daily active users on Solana, 1.5 million were unique tippers, showcasing interest in token sniping on platforms like Meteora and Orca.

Bundles on Solana refer to collections of transactions that are grouped together and sent to validators for processing. Tippers are users or bots who include additional fees (or tips) in their transactions to incentivize validators to prioritize their transactions in the block.

The trading activity briefly raised passive income for stakers to 7.14% annually, while inflation rates fell below 5%. TRUMP was trading at $42 on Wednesday morning, up 25% in the past 24 hours, while MELANIA registered slight losses trading at $4.

Author

CoinDesk Analysis Team

CoinDesk is the media platform for the next generation of investors exploring how cryptocurrencies and digital assets are contributing to the evolution of the global financial system.

More from CoinDesk Analysis Team
Share:

Editor's Picks

XRP extends multi-day decline as rising ETF inflows fail to offset profit-taking

XRP logs three consecutive days of declines, trimming last week's gains, and trades below $1.50. US-listed spot XRP ETFs record rising inflows, amounting to $76 million last week, but fail to cushion profit-taking headwinds.

Bitcoin dips as ETF inflows meet Fed headwinds

Bitcoin trades below $82,800 at the time of writing on Monday after gaining over 4% last week, with the rally losing momentum near recent highs. Strong institutional demand, supported by spot Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund inflows, continues to drive demand.

Pi Network stalls below 50-day EMA as Protocol 28 upgrade nears

Pi Network extends losses below $0.090 on Monday, risking the 6% gains from last week's recovery. The Pi Core Team plans to roll out the next Protocol 28 upgrade on October 16, focused on improving transaction data handling and smart contract maintenance.

Crypto Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP edge lower despite strong institutional buying

Cryptocurrency prices are broadly moderating on Monday, with Bitcoin hovering below $83,000 at the time of writing. Ethereum and Ripple reflect BTC’s weakness, as sellers return, pushing prices below $2,650 and $1.50, respectively.

Bitcoin: BTC consolidates gains as ETF inflows hit highest level since October 2025
Bitcoin (BTC) price holds above $84,000 at the time of writing on Friday as it consolidates gains of over 4% so far this week. Institutional demand supports the bullish outlook, with spot Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) recording a net inflow of $2.25 billion through Thursday, pointing to the highest weekly inflow since October 2025.