I pulled up on-chain data for Solana from 2021 to 2025, and the more I look at it, the more interesting it gets.

During the 2022 bear market, many people were scared off. But Solana’s user count only dropped by 13%, and trading volume plummeted by 51%, which still seems relatively resilient. So what happened? The price still fell by 96%, getting cut in half multiple times. How can this gap be explained?

By 2024, the situation reversed. User numbers surged, ultimately increasing by 25 times. Revenue grew even more dramatically—56 times. This data would be praised everywhere if it were on any exchange, right? But the price increase was only 2 times. Think about it carefully.

The most heartbreaking part is 2023. The entire year was a sideways market, looking dead and dull, with market enthusiasm completely drained. But—think carefully—this was actually the best time to get in. Over the next six months, the price shot up 10 times.

So the conclusion is actually quite painful: **No matter how good the project is, or how strong its fundamentals are, if you buy at the wrong time, it’s all pointless. Conversely, if you buy at the right time, even a bad project can fly in the short term.**

Instead of obsessing over finding the best projects, it’s better to figure out how to buy when the market is at its most desperate. That’s true skill.