Decentralized finance (Defi) platform Solana (SOL) continues to be one of the best-performing cryptocurrencies in the short term, attracting increased buying pressure.
The heightened interest has elevated Solana’s market capitalization to reach $42.5 billion by press time, reflecting an inflow of $4.4 billion or 11.5% growth from the $38.1 billion recorded on January 22.
Indeed, Solana’s recent gains have coincided with the short-term market uptick led by Bitcoin (BTC). Notably, most cryptocurrencies capitalized on Bitcoin’s gains amid slowed profit-taking from the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) spot exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Solana’s fundamentals
At the same time, Solana’s buying pressure has emerged when the network is experiencing increased activity, with the platform’s meme coins playing a pivotal role.
The latest popular meme token, WEN, is currently being airdropped to over a million users, including those on Solana’s Jupiter exchange, Solana Saga phone owners, and owners of specific Solana-based non-fungible tokens (NFT) projects.
Following the success of the first Solana smartphone, the platform recently announced the second phone, which is already witnessing increased demand. Specifically, after the announcement of the second phone version, preorders for the device reached almost 30,000 within an hour.
The Solana team is relying on the success of the first crypto-ready device featuring integrated crypto and web3 functionalities, including a dedicated crypto wallet, support for dApps and NFT marketplaces, and exclusive digital collectibles for users.
Amid the increased activity, the number of Solana addresses is also witnessing a spike. For instance, in January 2024, the network has recorded at least 10 million new addresses, with a majority attributed to meme coin activity on the platform.
Solana price analysis and chances to hit $100
By press time, SOL was trading at $97.13, marking a weekly gain of over 10%. It’s worth noting that SOL reached a weekly high of $99 before experiencing a brief correction.
Observing the current price movement, Solana appears to have retraced its previous year’s rally, characterized by consistent upward momentum and long green candles in daily trading.
On the other hand, crypto trading analyst Jelle, in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on January 26, suggested that investors should anticipate an extended SOL rally, projecting that the token might soon reach $200. He cited the token’s strength against Bitcoin as a factor to consider for sustained gains.
Indeed, based on fundamentals, SOL seems poised to reclaim the $100 mark, and the token will also be seeking a general boost from the overall trajectory of the crypto market.
Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.
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