Solana's SOL/USD price has retraced slightly, trading around $167, up 3.6% and extending its monthly gain to over 20%. The price action follows the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) delay of its decision on multiple spot Solana ETF applications, in spite of on-chain metrics supporting the bullish sentiment.
SEC pushed its review of Grayscale’s proposed Solana Trust ETF to October 2025, citing the need for further evaluation. While regulatory delays introduce uncertainty, the odds of a 2025 approval near 90%, signalling optimism despite the slow-moving process.
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Investor focus has shifted to fundamentals, as Solana captures the majority of dApp revenue across blockchains. It generated over $50 million last week, accounting for more than 50% of the total market share and outpacing Ethereum’s ETH/USD 14%. The dominance reflects growing user engagement, driven partly by the return of memecoin trading and cross-chain integration efforts.
Chainlink’s LINK/USD Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) launch on Solana has been a catalyst, opening the door for projects to move tokens securely between blockchains. According to Chainlink, the launch ushers in over $19 billion in CCIP‑ready assets on Solana, and DeFi teams and institutional players are lining up to test the new rails. By anchoring transfers in on‑chain proofs instead of trusted middlemen, CCIP could put bridge hacks in the rearview mirror.
On May 20, Solana Labs spinout, Anza, proposed “Alpenglow,” a major infrastructure upgrade to improve scalability and consensus mechanisms. Described by The Block as potentially the network’s most significant change yet, the proposal is in review. Successful implementation could further strengthen Solana’s technical position as activity scales.
Validator tips on Jito surged 57% last week to nearly 21,000 SOL (~$3.63 million), signalling demand for high-fee transactions and congested blockspace. Pump.fun, a leading meme coin launchpad, saw fee revenue decline nearly 28% quarter-on-quarter, suggesting volume may be migrating toward platforms with better yield incentives like Jito.
Technical analysts are eyeing the $170 resistance level; a confirmed breakout could open the door to $200, while failure to hold above $165 may lead to a retest of the $150 zone.
Bitcoin BTC/USD recently reclaimed $105,000, with $5.5 billion flowing into crypto funds as institutional appetite returns. As momentum builds, high-throughput altcoins like Solana will be well-positioned to benefit.
Looking forward, traders are watching three primary catalysts: any movement on SEC approvals, progress on Alpenglow, and macro sentiment driven by Bitcoin’s trajectory. Solana remains a leading indicator of altcoin appetite—and a bellwether for what comes next.
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