YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — The price of Solana (SOL), the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap ($41.3 billion), is back under the $100 mark. Last year, SOL price surged over 1,000%, going from under $10 at the start of 2023 to cross $120 on Dec. 25. At the time of writing, SOL exchanges hands at $95.39, around 65% below its all-time high of $259.96.
However, will the Solana price continue its rally past the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, or will the bears take over?
How Did Solana Perform in 2023?
Solana kicked off the year 2023 and was thrown on the back foot from the negative press it received from the collapse of the FTX exchange. In what was a bearing year for the entire crypto market, 2022 ended with extra FUD for SOL.
By November, reports emerged suggesting that Sam Bankman-Fried and his firms, FTX and Alameda Research, were among the earliest investors of the project. This caused many investors to abandon the project, fearing further losses.
Moreover, Solana faced scrutiny over network stability issues. These concerns came from multiple network outages in the previous years, raising questions about the network’s reliability.
However, despite these challenges, the dedicated SOL army remained loyal as the developers continued to implement upgrades and optimizations which enhanced the network performance and security. This ensured that the SOL price made steady gains in 2023.
By mid-2023, a notable resurgence in interest in Solana could be seen. The increased adoption in the NFT (Non-Fungible Token) space and growing developer activity on the Solana network brought fresh activity to the chain.
This period was also characterized by the launch of several high-profile projects on the Solana blockchain. This attracted both investors and users, pushing the Solana price up. Further contributing to its growth, the Solana ecosystem expanded into various sectors, including decentralized finance (DeFi) and gaming in 2023.
In an impressive feat, several institutional giants, such as Visa, Mastercard, Shopify, and Google Cloud, integrated Solana chain’s capabilities into their products.
These, among other things, helped Solana recover. However, the SOL price rally came amid the market excitement surrounding the buzz spot Bitcoin ETF, which the SEC approved earlier this month.
What Lies Ahead for SOL Price in 2024?
The parabolic rally of Solana in Q4 of 2023 has made analysts bullish about the prospects of SOL prices.
While writing, Solana’s total market cap stands above $41 billion, with a Fully Diluted Valuation of $54 billion. According to DeFi Llama, Solana’s Total Value Locked (TVL) is around $56.192 billion.
Meanwhile, the network’s high-performance capabilities and potential for widespread adoption in blockchain-based applications have made investors and analysts bullish.
According to a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), one analysis indicated that the Solana price chart “shows signs of forming a bull flag that could propel SOL to $163.
“On the hourly chart, Solana is showing signs of forming a bull flag. A decisive close above the $110 resistance level could be the catalyst for a significant upward move! If this pattern holds, we might see SOL heading toward an ambitious target of $163,”
he wrote.
Meanwhile, other investors see the SOL price at $500 in the coming months.
Can ETF mania impact the project’s price?
Predictions around SOL don’t stop at 2024. According to crypto investor Jake, who shares his analysis with his 215,000 followers, Solana’s price will go even higher next year.
“I do expect to see over a $750 price per Solana token in 2025. Obviously, there are a lot of factors contributing to this, but as more and more people move away from the Ethereum blockchain and onto other blockchains like Solana, I do expect to see Solana to be the top competitor of Ethereum heading into the next bull run,”
he said in his video analysis.
Jake also predicted that thanks to the growing interest in Solana NFTs and online gaming, as well as the low transaction costs, SOL will become the third-largest crypto by market cap.
With the excitement around a spot Bitcoin ETF has created a buzz, and people are looking forward to an Ethereum ETF soon. However, according to trader Alex Krüger, investors could see the first Solana ETF come to US investors as early as next year.
Furthermore, the US elections are scheduled for November 2024. The outcome, especially if Joe Biden fails to secure a re-election, could impact the cryptocurrency market. As it stands, experts are bullish about Solana’s price in 2024.
