Key points:
Investments from corporate treasuries are fueling steady demand and enhancing SOL’s price momentum.
Growth in DEX dominance, fees, and interoperability upgrades solidify Solana’s position in the competitive blockchain landscape.
Solana’s native token, SOL (SOL), encountered a significant resistance after touching the $250 mark on Sunday. Despite this pullback, SOL has experienced a 24% rise over the last 30 days, bolstered by increased on-chain activity.
Currently, traders are discussing whether the existing momentum could escalate SOL towards $300, especially as the Solana network has regained its dominance in decentralized exchange (DEX) volumes.
This September, Solana overtook Ethereum to become the leading blockchain for DEX trading, processing $121.8 billion in monthly volumes—about 90% higher than its rival, BNB Chain. This leadership is crucial as higher volumes lead to increased fees, creating ongoing demand for SOL to facilitate those transactions.
According to data from Nansen, Solana’s fees surged by 23% over the past week. This increase is significant considering that Ethereum has nearly seven times more total value locked (TVL). However, ETH holders receive minimal benefits from this base since many decentralized applications, such as restaking and real-world assets (RWA), exhibit low turnover and weak fee generation.
Increase in corporate treasury allocations boosts SOL demand
Recent activities in corporate treasuries have heightened demand for SOL. Several companies are acquiring capital through stock or debt offerings and allocating these funds towards cryptocurrency. A notable example is Forward Industries (FORD), a firm originally in medical and technology design, which raised $1.65 billion in private funding to acquire SOL for its reserves.
Forward Industries received backing from Galaxy Digital (GLXY), Jump Crypto—both a market maker and venture capital fund—and Multicoin Capital, famous for early investments in Helium (HNT), Filecoin (FIL), Solana, and Polkadot (DOT). Separately, a Solana-focused treasury firm, DeFi Development Corp, revealed holdings that exceed 2 million SOL, valued at more than $460 million.
On Monday, Pantera Capital, a significant player in blockchain asset management, announced the initiation of a new Solana-backed treasury vehicle listed on Nasdaq, named Helius (HSDT). The initial private placement of $500 million was co-led by the Hong Kong-licensed fund manager Summer Capital and may expand to over $1 billion, according to the press release.
Related: Bitcoin and Solana ETPs lead $3.3B crypto inflow rebound: CoinShares
A potential additional boost for SOL stems from a proposed open-source bridge connecting Solana and Base, an Ethereum layer-2 developed by Coinbase. Base has registered over 20 million active addresses in the last 30 days, per Nansen. This bridge would enable users to transfer assets across chains, fostering what Base creator Jesse Pollak describes as a more “interoperable and connected” ecosystem.
The Trump-backed cryptocurrency initiative World Liberty Financial (WLFI) also announced a partnership with Solana’s memecoin platform Bonk.fun and the Raydium DEX to fund “multimillion-dollar promotional rewards.” This effort focuses on USD1 stablecoin pairs, with WLFI’s token reportedly fully backed by US dollars and cash equivalents.
Given Solana’s increasing on-chain activity, the accumulation of SOL by treasury-focused firms, and the enhanced visibility from the Base bridge and WLFI collaboration, traders believe conditions are ripe for further growth. A climb to $300 would result in a $163 billion market capitalization for Solana, which still represents a 70% discount compared to Ether’s $543 billion valuation, making this scenario realistic in the near future.
This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal or investment advice. The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.
