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Since the start of the third quarter of 2023, Solana has been on the roll, recording an upward trend in its price. The token continued the impressive run into the new year, soaring to $210 on March 18, 2024.
While it suffered a slight decline in April, SOL recovered very quickly, leveraging the surge in meme coin trading within its ecosystem and the heightened excitement around the potential spot Ethereum ETF approval to jump up by 20% in the past 30 days.
Will Solana continue its bullish trend? Read on to know more.
Solana’s Price Action Since the Beginning of 2024
Even though Solana started to surge near the end of September 2023, its entry into 2024 was far from perfect. However, following the approval of the first Bitcoin ETF filings by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, the market saw a bullish trend that pushed SOL’s price to $105 before it experienced a minor drop.
The layer-2 token then started to move up steadily in a volatile fashion though it wasn’t until another below $100 plunge that it experienced a bounce that pushed it past the $200 mark.
In the middle of March 2024, the token crossed its $200 threshold to reach $210. However, its performance in April 2024 wasn’t the same as before. The entire market took a bearish turn after the Israel-Iran conflict, which took the Bitcoin’s price to its lowest level since February 2024.
Consequently, the SOL price also decreased. It was only after Solana reached $116 that bulls sprung into action to engineer another bounce, pushing its price above the $150 mark in mid-May.
As the possibility of the first spot Ethereum ETF approval gained more ground, SOL, like other cryptocurrencies in the market, has started recording green candles on its price charts.
What Factors Pushed Solana’s Growth So Far?
Solana has been named an underdog crypto by many publications, including Watcher Guru. While most investors were apprehensive about SOL after the FTX crash and Sam Bankman-Fried debacle, the community slowly started to come back.
However, SOL’s recent price action has been the best since its second bull run in 2021. Here are the factors that contributed to its growth.
Potential Ethereum ETF Approval
Ethereum ETF is around the corner as analysts have estimated a 75% chance that the SEC may approve most applications. In fact, there are speculations that Ether ETF products may start trading by the end of June.
The optimistic view is fueled by the recent actions of the regulator and the increasing recognition of the growing relevance of Ethereum in the crypto landscape.
Hence, the approval of the Ether ETF will be a paradigm shift in the regulatory landscape, placing SOL and other cryptocurrencies as a secure and accessible investment vehicle for retail and institutional investors.
Bitcoin’s Resurgence
Bitcoin’s resurgence is one of the key reasons why Solana has been performing so well lately. The leading cryptocurrency is back above $70k after the news of the imminent Ethereum ETF approval dominated the airspace.
And as Bitcoin rose, other major assets followed suit. Solana, being 4th biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, also experienced a significant increase in price.
Launching Of SOL Staking Service for European Investors
On May 15, popular trading platform Robinhood announced its first crypto-staking product, exclusively designed for European customers. The move is an attempt from the trading platform to expand its cryptocurrency services to Europe as a result of its legal struggles in the United States.
In the announcement, the firm disclosed that its customers in Europe can now stake Solana and receive a 5% yield on the platform. The staking service will see holders of SOL earn passive rewards for holding the token in return for supporting the network.
The new staking product boosted investors’ confidence in Solana as its presence on a leading trading platform like Robinhood is a validation of the token’s potential and stability. This announcement further contributed to the increase in the price of SOL.
Positive Sentiments Around Solana
Lately, the sentiment around Solana has been positive as the network has established its as a good platform for nurturing projects, thanks to its low network fee charges and high throughput.
More so, numerous developments have been happening within the Solana ecosystem as many decentralized applications and meme coin projects are emerging on the network.
Also, the network is gradually emerging as a hub from Stablecoin. Between October 2023 to April 2024, stablecoin activity on Solana increased by more than 1,770%. In March, Solana made major headlines by surpassing Ethereum to reach $364.7 billion weekly transfer volume for stablecoins.
According to Artemis, in the last 3 months, the transfer volume of stablecoins on Solana has grown by 308.59% hitting $106.3 billion. Also, DeFillama shows that Solana has a total value locked (TVL) worth $4.9 billion. These factors have contributed to more investors holding Solana.
Meme Coin Frenzy
There has been a flurry of Solana-based meme coins in the market lately. These meme coins, particularly Bonk, Dogwifhat, and Popcat, have maintained a strong price performance, even when the broader market was experiencing a downturn.
Investors’ appetite for these meme coins has, in recent months, heightened the trading activity on Solana, positioning it as one of the fastest-growing blockchain networks around. As of the time of writing, the overall market capitalization of Solana-based meme coins is $8.29 billion.
Solana Price Prediction – Can SOL Retest Its All-Time High?
After dipping slightly due to the general downturn in the cryptocurrency market, SOL has bounced back and is on track of hitting the $200 price mark. The possibility of SOL attaining this price level has gained more traction as news about the approval of Ethereum ETF hits the media space.
In reaction to this news, SOL leaped massively, soaring up to $188 at the early hours of May 21. Meanwhile, before the speculation of the Ether ETF, SOL enjoyed a steady upturn in its price. Popular crypto trading analytical platform, 99Bitcoins submitted that SOL could fly above its $200 price benchmark by the Q2 of 2024 if the market remains bullish.
Also, popular crypto analyst, Jacob Bury once spoke about the potential of SOL to hit an astounding price level, giving more room for meme coins based on the network to thrive. These predictions are pointing to the possibility of SOL surpassing the $200 benchmark. By that, SOL could be close to retesting its all-time high of $259.
5th Scape Could be a Better Alternative to Solana
Even though all the current factors paint a mostly bullish picture of Solana, however, due to the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency landscape, the token could fall off the predicted height.
Therefore, it is better to take most price predictions with a grain of salt and invest in assets available away from the volatility of the crypto market.
5th Scape has emerged as such an asset. Currently undergoing its presale, this project has a VR-focused attribute that is said to bring the smartest minds together.
Featuring a fully functional ecosystem complete with games, movies, and education, 5th Scape is a hyper-realistic VR project bringing players to a world of accessible virtual reality.
In addition to digital assets such as games and other VR experiences, 5th Scape also offers investors physical products such as VR headsets and VR gaming chairs. These physical elements add a different dimension to an ecosystem that is otherwise limited to offering benefits from the virtual realm.
The platform’s roadmap also features a digital experience development tool, which will allow game developers to craft their own VR experiences and put them on sale. This attribute decentralizes VR game creation, allowing developers to fully monetize their works.
Dynamic staking is also provided on the 5th Scape ecosystem, and so are discount-based utilities for owning its native crypto – 5SCAPE.
Considering its multiple use cases, renowned crypto analyst, Michael Wrubel says the token might be the next cryptocurrency to experience 100x post-launch surge.
Meanwhile, its presale is still live and has already raised more than $6 million in its ongoing presale. Those interested in what 5thscape has to offer can visit its official website – 5thscape.com.
To keep up with the project, follow its X handle or join its Telegram channel.
*Cryptonomist did not write the article or test the platform.
