Executive Summary
The Story So Far
Why This Matters
Who Thinks What?
The cryptocurrency market continues to grapple with high volatility following a recent $19 billion liquidation event, which saw risk assets decline across the board. This downturn was reportedly triggered by President Trump’s imposition of 100% tariffs on Chinese imports, significantly impacting Bitcoin, tech stocks, and altcoins like Solana (SOL).
Solana’s Market Performance and Outlook
Solana has experienced a challenging week, with its price hovering around $195, marking an 11% drop over the past seven days. Spot trading volumes have decreased by 13% to $9.6 billion, and open interest is down an additional 3%, indicating persistent bearish sentiment among traders.
Despite the short-term struggles, an AI model from Gemini forecasts a significant rebound for Solana. Gemini’s latest analysis suggests the recent sell-off is merely a “last shakeout” before a substantial “structural repricing,” predicting SOL could rally 112% to reach $415 by the end of 2025.
Driving Factors for Solana’s Predicted Rally
Gemini’s optimistic forecast is underpinned by several factors pointing to a potential supply crunch. The model highlights over 90% odds of spot Solana ETF approval, which could attract an estimated $5.5 billion in new capital inflows. A significant portion of this capital is expected to flow into SOL staking, effectively locking up tokens and reducing circulating supply.
Further tightening of supply could come from Helius Treasury’s stated intention to acquire 5% of the total SOL supply. On the technological front, upcoming upgrades like Firedancer and Alpenglow are designed to enhance Solana’s stability and achieve sub-second transaction finality, features highly sought after by institutional investors. The growth in real-world asset (RWA) tokenization on Solana also contributes to its perceived undervaluation.
Mixed Signals and Institutional Interest
The market presents mixed signals for Solana. While VanEck’s Solana ETF filing now includes staking rewards, it continues to face delays with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Conversely, approximately $169 million worth of SOL has been withdrawn from centralized exchanges over the past week, a trend often indicative of accumulation by long-term holders rather than panic selling.
Reports of institutional buyers accumulating SOL below the $200 mark suggest a growing confidence in the asset’s long-term potential, even amidst current short-term volatility.
Emergence of New Solana-Based Projects
Amidst the predictions for Solana’s recovery, new projects within its ecosystem are gaining attention. Snorter (SNORT), a Telegram-based trading bot designed for the Solana meme coin niche, is one such project. It aims to combine the speculative appeal of meme coins with practical trading tools like sniping, copy-trading, and anti-rug protection, all facilitated by a private RPC setup for enhanced speed and security on DEX trades.
The SNORT token presale has already secured $4.8 million and is set to conclude on October 20. Early backers and analysts from 99Bitcoins have speculated that Snorter could achieve 100x returns upon its exchange debut. SNORT holders are offered benefits including reduced trading fees, staking rewards of 107% annually, and access to premium features, with the token’s code having undergone two audits for increased assurance.
