The Solana Cycle (2020–2025): From Origins to New All-Time High
The Solana market cycle between 2020 and 2025 has been one of the most powerful and dynamic in the entire crypto sector. Starting as an emerging blockchain, Solana went through a phase of explosive growth, a brutal bear market, and a subsequent recovery that brought it back among the top digital assets.
2020 – The Birth of the Trend
In 2020, Solana officially entered the crypto scene as a high-performance blockchain.
The price starts from a few cents and the network gains attention for its Proof of History-based architecture.
The first DeFi protocols and NFT projects are launched, marking the beginning of the accumulation phase.
2021 – The first major cycle: from $1 to over $250
The year 2021 is the first true cycle top of Solana.
Vertical growth of the NFT ecosystem
Explosion of on-chain DeFi
Increase in daily active users
Entry of institutional investors
Solana officially enters the global top 5 crypto assets.
The end of 2021 marks the first cyclical top with a subsequent drawdown exceeding 75%.
2022 – The collapse: technical errors and FTX failure
The global market enters a bear market. The bearish cycle of Solana is exacerbated by:
Network instability (outage)
Panic sell
Collapse of FTX, one of the most exposed investors in SOL
The price drops below $10, marking a drawdown -86% from the all-time high.
2023 – The year of resilience
While many believed that Solana was 'finished', the network is reborn:
No significant outages
Growth in retail adoption
Strong return of NFT volumes with marketplaces like Tensor
Explosive prime memecoins (BONK)
DeFi ecosystem rebuilt from scratch
Solana returns above $100, demonstrating impressive strength.
2024 – The new bullish cycle
2024 represents a new expansion cycle:
Launch of Solana Mobile
Massive expansion of Jupiter and the AMMs
Return of liquidity in Layer-1 ecosystems
Network volume surpassing that of Ethereum in multiple periods
By the end of 2024, Solana shows a new cycle top, with a temporary drawdown around 70–75%.
2025 – The next cycle
2025 represents the key year of the new cycle:
Increase in real-world applications (Real World Assets, payments, gaming)
Possible new all-time high
Strong growth of the mobile ecosystem
The previous cycle suggests a potential top similar to those of 2021 and 2024, followed by a drawdown of 70–80%
2025 could be the year that defines the super cycle of Solana.
