Solana outperforms broader crypto market as Claude Code token hype boosts network activity

Solana outperformed the broader crypto market over the past 24 hours, rising about 1.9% to trade near $129, while the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) posted a modest 0.15% gain.

SOL climbed from roughly $126.4 to an intraday high near $130 before easing back. The advance followed a breakout from a narrow consolidation range, accompanied by strong trading volume of around 2.34 million SOL, according to CoinDesk Research technical data.

The move extended a short-term rebound that began after the token successfully defended support around the $127 level.

Meanwhile, activity across the Solana network has jumped in recent days, driven by speculation around Claude Code, an AI development toolkit built by Anthropic. Developers have increasingly launched tokens tied to viral AI repositories via Bags, a Solana-based token launchpad.

The surge in token launches has translated into a sharp rise in network usage. Active addresses increased from 4.7 million in early January to 18.9 million last week, while weekly transaction volumes rose from 390 million to 530 million, according to DefiLlama data.

Although many of the newly launched tokens remain speculative, some have been adopted by the original AI project teams, allowing trading fees to be redirected to developers. This dynamic has reinforced a feedback loop of new launches and elevated on-chain activity.

Despite stronger network usage, Solana’s total value locked has slipped to around $8.4 billion. From a technical perspective, $130 remains a key level. A sustained move above could open the door to a retest of recent highs, while a failure to hold may expose SOL to support in the $126–$124 range.