- *50% price plunge sparks “turn‑point” talk* – After a steep 50% drop from its November 2025 peak, analysts see the sell‑off as a possible buying opportunity, noting that underlying fundamentals (high‑throughput upgrades, strong DeFi TVL, institutional inflows) remain solid ¹.
- *ETF boom* – Invesco Galaxy filed a Form 8‑A for a spot Solana ETF, one of several new ETF filings that signal growing institutional appetite. Franklin Templeton also launched its Solana ETF (SOEZ), adding to the momentum ² ³.
- *Validator count slides* – The network has lost about 68% of its validators since 2023, sparking debate over whether this reflects healthy “node pruning” or a warning sign for decentralization ² ³.
- *Firedancer & Alpenglow upgrades* – The Firedancer validator client and Alpenglow consensus upgrade are now live on mainnet, promising sub‑100‑ms finality and over 1 million TPS in test environments, aiming to boost reliability and scale ¹ ³.
- *Major DDoS test* – Solana withstood a 6 Tbps distributed denial‑of‑service attack without network disruption, showcasing improved resilience ³.
- *Coinbase & Base bridge* – Coinbase’s Layer‑2 Base network launched a bridge to Solana via Chainlink CCIP, enabling smoother asset transfers between the two ecosystems ².
- *Visa USDC settlement* – Visa announced USDC settlement for U.S. financial institutions on Solana, with a rollout slated for 2026 ⁴.
- *Price outlook* – SOL is trading around $125, hovering near the $120–$130 support zone. Analysts flag downside risk below $120, but a hold could trigger a rebound toward $133–$140 ⁵.
*Want to dive deeper?*
Ask about a specific ETF, the impact of the validator drop, or how the upcoming Breakpoint conference might shape SOL’s price.
