Solana processed 1,012,226,009 transactions during the week of July 27 to August 2, 2026, the first time the network has crossed the 1 billion mark in a single week. The milestone lands as Solana pushes through two network upgrades in parallel: a deflationary tokenomics change now in its final voting stage, and SIMD-0525, live on testnet, which cuts slot time from 400 milliseconds to 350 milliseconds as an interim step toward a longer-term target of 200-millisecond slots.
The transaction surge coincided with another number that stood out in the same reporting period: Solana's tokenized gold market cap has grown 689.1% since August 2025, averaging 18.8% monthly growth, more than double the pace of BNB Chain and 4.6 times faster than Avalanche or Ethereum over the same stretch.
Part of that growth has a clear catalyst. Paxos launched its PAXG gold token on Solana in late June 2026 through Sunrise DeFi, giving the asset a faster, cheaper venue than its original Ethereum home while keeping the same OCC regulatory oversight and physical bullion backing. The listing added to a broader run-up in Solana's real-world-asset activity: the network's RWA total value locked reached $2.5 billion in May 2026, up from just $215 million a year earlier, according to separate market data.
Gold's own rally is adding fuel
The tokenized gold growth is happening against a backdrop of rising spot gold prices, which have climbed above $4,200 an ounce, their highest level since June 2022. XAUT and PAXG together still account for roughly 96-97% of the entire tokenized gold segment, with more than 1.2 million ounces of vaulted bullion backing the combined on-chain supply, meaning Solana's growth is arriving inside an already-expanding market rather than one it created alone.
SOL's price hasn't kept pace with the network's activity
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Despite the transaction and RWA milestones, SOL itself was up just over 1.8% for the month at the time of reporting, underperforming Cardano's 11% gain over the same period, a reminder that network usage metrics and token price have been moving on largely separate tracks this cycle.
