What is Solana? Is it the comeback kid, the Ethereum killer, or even something else to you? It is no secret that I and the Altcoin Buzz team like Solana. We know how hard times were for Solana when FTX collapsed. The $SOL price dropped to below $10.
Who still had the conviction to buy at that price? If you did, kudos to you. You’re sitting on a winner. With all these things going on, the team behind Solana kept believing and building. That’s where it showed real leadership. Hence, the comeback kid. But where can Solana go from here? Let’s take a closer look and find out Solana’s milestones and why I am still bullish on Solana.
1) Solana Spot ETF
Big news was the recent filing for Solana spot ETFs. Two firms filed their 19b-4 application with the SEC. This form is already the second step in obtaining a spot ETF in the US. The two firms are VanEck and 21Shares. They had already filed their S-1 applications.
Now, once the SEC acknowledges receipt of these filings, it opens a window of 240 days. During this window, the SEC must make a decision whether to approve these filings or deny them. So, by March 2025, we know if the SEC will approve these Solana spot ETFs.
Source: X
However, it’s not all looking that likely that this application will go through. There are a couple of crucial points to consider.
- There’s no Futures contract in the US for Solana. This in contrast to $BTC and $ETH. They both have a Futures contract. This is all about hedging, as explained in my previous video. Check it out.
- The SEC doesn’t see $SOL as a commodity. In contrast, it sees it as a security. To get the filing approved, the SEC needs to agree upon $SOL being a commodity.
- The elections are going to play a big role. If Biden gets re-elected, the chances of this approval are very low. On the other hand, if Trump gets elected, it will be much more likely that this spot ETF gets approved. If Trump wins, Gensler will get replaced. This will most likely be with a much more crypto-friendly chairman.
- BlackRock hasn’t filed yet for a Solana spot ETF. Once BlackRock gets involved, the chances for approval will increase.
So, this spot ETF is not a given fact yet.
2) Blinks
Blinks is short for blockchain links. They are Solana’s new feature for direct payments in the Solana ecosystem. In other words, you don’t need a third-party app anymore. You can request payments now in text messages. You can link right away to on-chain transactions. So, if something has a URL, you can link to it.
This comes in handy for all kinds of social media. For example, on X or Discord. You bypass any Dapp and go straight to a Solana wallet, like Phantom. Here you can complete the transaction.
Source: X
Blinks are part of the Solana Actions. That was previously known as Solana Pay. So, Blinks are part of the Solana Actions. Blinks also have plenty of use cases. For instance:
- Tip creators on social media.
- Buy an NFT.
- Complete a swap on a DEX.
So, you can use them anywhere you can place a URL. Here’s an easy-to-use explanation. It tells you how you can set up your own Blinks. You can use Blinks, to request a transaction, with or in:
- Links.
- Messaging apps.
- QR codes.
- Push notifications.
- Buttons.
Some samples of where you can include Blinks are:
- Phantom, a wallet.
- Jupiter, a DEX.
- Tensor, an NFT marketplace.
- Helium, IoT devices, like hotspots connect wireless devices to their network.
Source: X
Since their introduction, some two weeks ago, Solana’s daily transactions are up. Month-by-month, that means up by 38%. From 33.8 million in mid-June to 49.1 million in mid-July. That’s quite impressive. Now, if Solana can add a better and easier onboarding process, Blinks will be close to perfect. Right now, having a Solana wallet is a prerequisite.
3) Firedancer Upgrade
The Firedancer upgrade is a validator upgrade by Jump. It will boost Solana’s security and its decentralization. Currently, there are only two validator clients on Solana. They are also both written in the Rust programming language. So, if there’s a bug or another issue with Rust, both clients may face an issue.
As a result, all of Solana’s ecosystem might go down. Remember the times when Solana was also known for its downtime? These times seem to be a thing of the past. Since November 2022, there have been only two periods of downtime. The last one was in February 2024.
Source: X
However, the Jump team wrote Firedancer in a different language, C++. So, this fact makes it more decentralized. If there’s an issue with Rust now, validators can switch to Firedancer. This is a great boost to client diversity for Solana validators.
During testnet tests, Firedancer managed a TPS (transactions per second) of 1 million. That makes it the fastest chain in the crypto industry. That’s quite a bit up from its current TPS of 65,000. So, this will be a massive upgrade for the Solana ecosystem. However, this upgrade is not scheduled until early to mid-2025.
So, as you can see, plenty of positive things are happening at Solana. And that’s not all! There are more exciting things happening. How about, for example, Solana’s mobile phones? Do you understand now why I’m so bullish on Solana? Once $SOL gets an upward momentum, it should break its current ATH of $260.
What do you think? Is Solana on the way? Will it break its ATH during this bull run?
Disclaimer
The information discussed by Altcoin Buzz is not financial advice. This is for educational, entertainment, and informational purposes only. Any information or strategies are thoughts and opinions relevant to the accepted risk tolerance levels of the writer/reviewers and their risk tolerance may be different than yours. We are not responsible for any losses you may incur due to any investments directly or indirectly related to the information provided. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are high-risk investments so please do your due diligence. Copyright Altcoin Buzz Pte Ltd.
