Ex-Kraken CLO Declares: Solana Finally Delivers on Ethereum’s Decade-Old Promises

Solana isn't just competing—it's fulfilling visions Ethereum sketched out nearly ten years ago. That's the bold claim from Kraken's former Chief Legal Officer, who argues SOL executes where ETH stalled.

Speed Demon Performance

While Ethereum struggles with gas fees that would make a Wall Street banker blush, Solana processes transactions at breakneck speeds. The network handles thousands per second—delivering the scalability dream Ethereum's white paper promised back in 2015.

Developer Exodus Accelerates

Builders are voting with their code. Major projects keep migrating to Solana's ecosystem, attracted by lower costs and faster execution. It's not just hype—it's a fundamental shift in where innovation happens.

Regulatory Side-Eye

Even compliance experts notice the difference. Solana's architecture avoids some of Ethereum's regulatory gray areas, giving institutions clearer pathways for adoption—something traditional finance might actually understand, if they could look up from their spreadsheets.

The verdict? Ethereum laid the groundwork, but Solana's building the future—and it's doing it without the baggage of broken promises and nine-figure gas fees.

Marco Santori's comments

In an X thread, Santori, a former Kraken CLO, introduced Solmate, which he described as “brand new solana infrastructure” for the UAE, adding that he will be CEO.

He said Solmate is aligned with the Solana Foundation and backed by UAE investors, and he highlighted additional support from Ark Invest, which he characterized as a rare DAT PIPE investment by an ETF.

Santori framed Solmate’s remit as a digital asset treasury and crypto infrastructure company focused on SOL-per-share growth for shareholders.

Santori outlined the strategy behind the vehicle by calling digital asset treasuries “capital accumulation machines.” In his view, the best DAT is the one with the best access to capital, and he argued the UAE is “the Capitol of Capital.”

He said Solmate’s sponsors include the Pulsar Group, positioning the firm to raise fiat and convert it into crypto more efficiently than individual investors.

On operations, Santori said Solmate is partnering with RockawayX, which he called a leader in staking infrastructure, and that Viktor Fischer will join the board.

The plan includes standing up bare-metal validators in Abu Dhabi to target performance and reliability for staking, with more initiatives to follow.

Santori also made a broader case for the Solana ecosystem.

He said Solana is the “fastest, most used” blockchain and is growing faster than comparable networks. He contrasted it with ethereum by saying Solana “delivers what Ethereum promised,” and closed the thread with an emphatic “I’m all in on it.”

Comments from analysts on SOL's price action

Analyst Rekt Capital said SOL has broken a long-term downtrend and is now retesting about $238 —f ormerly major monthly resistance —a s support on the weekly chart. He sees a successful retest as confirmation that the old ceiling has flipped to a floor, which would keep the path open for attempts at new all-time highs.

Trader KALEO said “$1,000+ sol isn’t a meme,” presenting four-figure prices as plausible; he did not specify timing in the post.

CoinDesk Research's technical analysis

. The analysis covers Sept. 17, 2025, 19:00 UTC to Sept. 18, 2025, 18:00 UTC.

. During that window, SOL moved from $233.78 to $250.59 (about +7.2%), swinging about $19.72 in total. That tells us buyers were generally in control during this period.

. Around 22:00 UTC on Sept. 17, 2025, price pushed above ~$245 on much heavier trading (~2.32M units). “Heavier trading” means more coins changed hands than usual.

When price climbs on bigger-than-normal activity, it’s a sign demand is strong enough to overcome sellers. After that push, ~$245 started acting like a floor (support) — traders were willing to buy dips there.

. At 17:00 UTC on Sept. 18, 2025, price stalled NEAR ~$253.44 on very high trading (~2.88M units). That shows ~$253 is a ceiling (resistance) — many traders chose to sell or take profit there, absorbing buy orders.

. Between 17:56 UTC and 18:55 UTC on Sept. 18, 2025, price eased from $251.55 to $250.40. That small, orderly fade after a strong run is typical cool-off or consolidation — the market catching its breath rather than reversing trend.

• Floors (support): ~$245 first, ~$238 if ~$245 breaks. Support = areas where buyers have recently stepped in.
• Ceilings (resistance): ~$252–$253 first, then ~$255–$260 if price gets through ~$253. Resistance = areas where sellers have recently pushed back.

. Buyers defended ~$245; sellers capped ~$253. A daily/4-hour close above ~$253 (UTC) would likely invite a push toward ~$255–$260. A drop below ~$245 would likely bring a check of $242–$243, then ~$238.

Analysis of latest SOL-USD CoinDesk Data charts

24-hour chart (ending Sept. 18, 19:51 UTC): Range $237.01–$252.81; coiling above ~$245 with a ceiling ~$252–$253. Hold ~$245 and a push through ~$253 would likely target ~$255–$260; lose ~$245 and the path is $242–$243, then ~$238.

One-month chart (ending Sept. 18, 19:52 UTC): Uptrend of higher highs/lows (roughly $179.71 → $250.50). $238 is the pivot: above it keeps the breakout case clean; below it suggests a pause toward the low $230s before another try higher.