Etherscan, renowned for its Ethereum blockchain explorer, has kicked off the year by acquiring Solscan, a prominent block explorer for the Solana ecosystem, as announced on January 3rd. This acquisition, termed a “collaborative merging,” signifies Etherscan’s strategy to broaden its blockchain data services to encompass multiple networks.
Established in 2021, Solscan has impressively catered to over three million users monthly. Its community on X (previously known as Twitter) has grown to over 23,000 followers. Solscan offers an array of features akin to those on Etherscan, such as comprehensive data on addresses, tokens, transactions, APIs, dashboards, and metadata for non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Etherscan aims to maintain its commitment to providing impartial and equitable access to blockchain data post-acquisition. The company also intends to integrate additional functionalities across various explorers and enhance support systems.
Matthew Tan, CEO and co-founder of Etherscan, praised Solscan’s team for their expertise in delivering detailed insights and analytics in blockchain data, highlighting their alignment with Etherscan’s mission of making blockchain data accessible and user-friendly.
This strategic move by Etherscan coincides with a notable rise in the value of Solana’s native cryptocurrency, SOL. Recently, SOL experienced a 60% increase over 30 days, surpassing $100 in late 2023 for the first time since 2022. Despite a slight 3.5% decline in the last 24 hours, SOL trades at around $110, making it the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, valued at nearly $47 billion.
The surge in SOL’s value has sparked discussions about its potential to surpass Ethereum (ETH) in the future. Notably, Solana briefly exceeded Ethereum in daily decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volumes and global Google search interest in late December, indicating its growing prominence in the cryptocurrency market.
