SOL Hits All-Time High: Can the "Meme Chain King" Become the Third Spot ETF?
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SOL Hits All-Time High: Can the "Meme Chain King" Become the Third Spot ETF?
The number of active wallet addresses on Solana has surged from 1 million in May to 8.8 million today.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: 1912212.eth, Foresight News
Solana has surged to new all-time highs at a pace far outstripping Ethereum. This morning around 11 AM, SOL broke through $260, setting a fresh record high. Its market capitalization now exceeds $122.5 billion, making it the second public blockchain after Ethereum to surpass the trillion-dollar threshold.
Driven by SOL's strong rally, various ecosystem projects have also experienced explosive growth. The restaking protocol JTO surged over 24%, currently trading at $3.40. DEX protocol RAY rose more than 12% to $6.20, while JUP gained over 7% to $1.10.
After rebounding from its bear market low of just $8, SOL has climbed steadily, delivering returns exceeding 30x. What exactly has fueled SOL’s rise?
Overall Performance Metrics
Solana has forged its own path, establishing representative projects in AI, DeFi, and staking, with solid overall performance metrics.
According to solscan data, Solana’s TPS remains stable around 3,000, indicating consistent network performance.
Active wallet addresses—a key metric—have also shown impressive growth. Despite a gradual decline since mid-year amid broader market corrections, Solana’s active wallet count has been largely unaffected, soaring from 1 million to a peak of 8.8 million.
Following a brief lull, activity quickly rebounded, with new account creation now surpassing 20 million.
Meme Wave
"Not participating in Solana memes is like skipping DeFi in the last cycle."
The current bull market's meme boom is centered on Solana, spawning countless wealth-generating opportunities and meme projects. As the native token for purchasing these memes, rising demand for memecoins indirectly drives up demand for SOL, pushing its price higher.
The chart above shows that since September this year, priority transaction fees have skyrocketed from around 3,000 to 55,000 today—an increase of 15x—reflecting investors' intense enthusiasm for meme activity on the Solana blockchain.
To date, according to CoinMarketCap, meme tokens with market caps exceeding $1 billion include BONK, WIF, POPCAT, and PUNT. Dozens more fall within the $100 million to $1 billion range, such as GOAT, MEW, BOME, ACT, LUCE, ai16Z, and MICHI—performance that far outpaces Ethereum and newer chains like Base.
Solana Spot ETF Could Be Approved
After the approval of Ethereum spot ETFs earlier this year, many investors have pinned hopes on a similar product for Solana. In August, the U.S. SEC rejected Cboe’s filing for a Solana spot ETF (Form 19b-4), cooling related applications temporarily.
On November 21, FOX Business reporter Eleanor Terrett cited two sources saying that negotiations between SEC staff and issuers seeking to launch a SOL spot ETF have progressed. The SEC is now reviewing S-1 filings for a Solana spot ETF. Sources indicated it is "very likely" that some 19b-4 filings will be submitted by exchanges representing potential issuers in the coming days—the next step toward ETF approval.
With crypto-friendly Donald Trump set to return to the White House, previous strict regulatory stances may ease. On November 22, U.S. officials announced that SEC Chair Gary Gensler will officially step down on January 20—the same day Trump takes office.
Notably, Chris Giancarlo, widely known as the "Crypto Dad," has emerged as a leading candidate for the new SEC chair. Trump’s transition team is considering appointing him to this key government role. Giancarlo is former chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and co-founder of the Digital Dollar Project. He has deep expertise in Web3 and digital currencies, having participated in numerous discussions on cryptocurrencies, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), and stablecoins, consistently emphasizing their importance for the future of finance.
Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas stated: "Changes in the presidency and leadership at the SEC could make anything possible in 2025."
How High Can Solana Go?
Trader Eugene: SOL Price Target Between $500 and $1,000
At the end of September, top trader Eugene Ng Ah Sio posted on social media that the second phase of this bull market has begun, and it’s time to set targets. Since final peak prices are hard to predict accurately, he provided a price range expected by the end of this cycle—based on assumptions that Trump wins the election and the U.S. achieves a soft economic landing. Specific forecasts:
BTC: $100,000–$200,000;
ETH: $4,000–$6,000;
SOL: $500–$1,000;
Total crypto market cap: $5 trillion–$10 trillion.
VanEck: Bullish on SOL Reaching $330 This Cycle
U.S. asset management giant VanEck also expressed optimism about Solana. In a report dated September 25, VanEck projected that Solana could reach $330 this cycle, climbing to 50% of Ethereum’s market cap at that time.
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