Investors have been eagerly awaiting the start of a new bull cycle, and many analysts are inclined to believe that it has already begun. The optimism that arose in the first half of the year subsided slightly during the summer lull. There was no particular point in clicking BTC to XMR calculator buttons every day, although what would a person do out of boredom? In mid-autumn, the market revived again. Among potentially profitable altcoins, a special place is given to Solana (SOL), and for good reason.
What is the Solana project?
Solana is no longer a newcomer to the cryptocurrency market. Development of the project began in 2017, and the network was launched in the spring of 2020. For some time, the coin occupied a modest 42nd place in the ranking of the largest cryptocurrencies, which, however, was quite acceptable for a new project. In 2021, Solana experienced its finest hour. In the fall of the same year, it triumphantly broke into the TOP 10 largest cryptocurrencies and ousted several old-timers in the ranking. Since then, SOL has remained in the top ten and it really makes sense to buy additional assets on declines or exchange part of the BTC to SOL when rebalancing the investment portfolio.
Network characteristics
Currently, the Solana blockchain occupies a leading position in the speed of transaction processing. Among its advantages are a high degree of resistance to censorship and an increased level of security. The network uses a hybrid consensus mechanism, combining the familiar Proof-of-Stake with Proof-of-History, the so-called “Proof of History”. It delivers outstanding network speed and efficiency, leveraging the benefits of blockchain technology to deliver efficient decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions.
Solana performs the same functions as Ethereum, but does it much faster. In addition to high performance and scalability, the Solana network boasts low fees, which puts it in an advantageous position over its main competitor.
The network is secured by over 2,300 nodes and is much more decentralized compared to Stellar or Ripple. Although running a Solana node requires a $3,000 to $4,000 hardware investment, it is a relatively low cost. Given the technical characteristics, Solana has excellent prospects and may become one of the leading blockchain platforms. Focused on DeFi, this network quickly gained recognition as a potential competitor to Ethereum.
It’s important to note that Solana has an active community, and the native token’s explosive growth has been fueled by the NFT boom. One of the most famous NFT collections on Solana is “Academy of Degenerate Monkeys”, and these tokens are traded on various platforms, including OpenSea.
SOL price dynamics
The native token of the SOL network began its rise against the backdrop of overall market growth in February 2021. During the summer downturn, SOL suffered losses in value, but not as significant as those of the market’s leading assets. The fall of 2021 was a period of historical highs, and the token stood out among the leaders in terms of growth rate. However, the rapid rise revealed previously unnoticed technical shortcomings of the young platform. This caused concern among investors, and the resulting market correction presented a serious test for the coin. By the end of 2021, its value had dropped by almost a third, dropping to around $260 per coin.
The downward trend in the market continued into 2022. For SOL, this period turned out to be no less impressive than the previous growth – the coin lost about 90% of its value and for some time traded below the $10 mark.
The first half of 2023 looked optimistic, but hopes for an end to the bearish trend faded in the summer. And yet, after reaching a local minimum of about $12.7 per coin in June 2023, the price of SOL began to grow slowly and not very confidently. In November, the coin quickly rose in price, its price immediately exceeded $68, but this is still far from reaching the historical maximum.
Is Solana a good investment?
Predicting future changes in the cryptocurrency market is a difficult task. Solana has strong technical capabilities, but faces serious competition from other projects. The development team continues to improve the blockchain, releases new products and is actively establishing partnerships with large companies. As the DeFi segment is expected to continue to grow in the long term, Solana is certainly worth a look.
However, no one can guarantee easy and quick success in the face of increasingly tough competition. Therefore, before making financial decisions, it is recommended to conduct your own market research, taking into account your goals, capabilities and level of risk tolerance.
