Solana has once again captured the limelight by rallying from $21 in mid-October to nearly $45 last week. It has solidified its position as a top 10 cryptocurrency. The impressive part here is that this surge is a happened right after the disastrous FTX collapse.
After the debacle SOL traded under $10 for a brief period. The extraordinary price gains have been partly driven by surging activity on the network. Its liquid staking token protocols like Jito have been successful in boosting activity on the network.
Often referred to as an “alt L1,” Solana is frequently compared to Ethereum (ETH). Since September, it has emerged as the clear outperformer.
The ratio between the two has jumped from 0.011 to nearly 0.025. This is higher than the ratio recorded from just before FTX’s collapse. Ethereum, despite being the second largest cryptocurrency has been facing issues with scalability and network centralization due to heavy staking in pools.
Who is selling and buying Solana?
Coinbase has led the charge in net buying, with a net purchase of 2.2 million SOL tokens since October 18. It officially marked the beginning of the rally.
Similarly, Binance also trailed behind Coinbase in the beginning ofNovember when market buying quickly accelerated. Ultimately the cumulative volume delta (CVD) of 1.9 million has been reached since October 18.
On the other hand, Korea’s leading exchange, Upbit, has taken a unique path. They have sold a net of nearly 4 million SOL tokens.
These moves underline the diverse nature of the cryptocurrency sector. Korean markets have exhibited distinct behaviour with regulators imposing strict guidelines market corrections impacting trading for investors.
Solana beats major Altcoins
SOL’s dominance is further highlighted by its ranking as the most traded altcoin on US exchanges this year. It has outpaced the likes of DOGE, LTC, MATIC, and XRP.
This turnaround for altcoins in the U.S. comes after a tough start to the year. After Ripple’s court victory, XRP also had a positive brief period, where it rallied 83%.
Solana can give big returns
With Solana’s growth exceeding 200% since the start of 2023, the total value locked in the Solana ecosystem has reached an impressive $378 million. Asset management firm VanEck has forecasted significant price gains as SOL surpassed the $32 mark.
Their report presents a wide range of valuation scenarios, from a conservative estimate of $9.81 to an ambitious $3,211.28 by 2030. It potentially signals a remarkable 10,600% price surge for Solana.
VanEck’s bullish call positions Solana are serious challenger to Ethereum, which has its target price set at $11,800. As of writing, Ethereum is trading at $1,886.76, down 0.34% since yesterday.
The report envisioned Solana as the top blockchain network capable of handling over 100 million users. VanEck’s involvement extends beyond this report, as they have previously submitted Bitcoin exchange-traded fund applications to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.