Morning Minute: Solana’s New Path to ATH - Here’s What’s Driving the Surge

Solana smashes through resistance—new all-time highs in sight as network upgrades fuel institutional frenzy.

The Scaling Breakthrough

Faster finality and lower fees are pulling developers from rival chains. Validator performance upgrades cut settlement times by 40%—no more congested mempools choking throughput.

Institutional Money Floods In

Hedge funds pivot from Ethereum's gas wars to Solana's predictable costs. Trading firms bypass traditional finance entirely—why pay Wall Street margins when code executes cheaper?

The Retail Frenzy

Memecoins and NFTs resurge on SOL's momentum. Community staking rewards hit record yields while Bitcoin maximalists scramble to justify their stagnant bags.

Regulatory Arbitrage Plays Out

SEC clarity on SOL's status as a non-security token triggers algorithmic buying sprees. TradFi banks suddenly 'discover' blockchain efficiency—right after dismissing it for a decade.

Price targets get reckless above $200, but let's be real: half these crypto fund managers couldn't explain proof-of-history if their bonus depended on it. The tech's legit—the hype? Always excessive.

⚡ Solana’s Setup: Seven-Month Highs and a Path to New ATHs

Solana just printed a seven-month high.

And its fresh new narrative may be enough to drive it to new ATHs in 2025.

📌 What Happened

SOL climbed ~4% Wednesday to nearly $225, its highest level since February, and is up about 25% over the past month.

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan says the same forces that powered Bitcoin and Ethereum’s rally (ETF inflows and corporate/treasury accumulation) are now lining up for Solana, setting the stage for an “epic end-of-year run.”

Here’s a glimpse at what’s happening for solana right now:

• Treasuries are buying SOL: Public companies focused on Solana have accumulated large positions through 2025, and Forward Industries just closed a $1.65B raise to build a SOL treasury
• ETFs in the queue: The SEC is weighing spot Solana ETFs from multiple issuers (including Bitwise), along with staking ETFs, with approval expected in Q4 (as soon as October)
• Apps are firing: Solana’s leading apps (Pump Fun, Raydium) are introducing buybacks to their respective tokens based on protocol volumes, setting up flywheels that are driving volumes and token prices higher. Plus a major ecosystem airdrop with Meteora’s MET token comes next month.

It’s a very nice setup.

🗣️ What They’re Saying

“For the last 18 months, the recipe for strong returns in crypto has been clear: Take one part exchange traded products (ETP) inflows, add strong corporate treasury purchases, and voilà-you get big returns… All the ingredients are there for an epic end-of-year run for Solana.” - Matt Hougan, CIO, Bitwise

🧠 Why It Matters

This is one of those trades that feels too easy to be true.

But SOL has nearly the exact same setup as BTC and ETH before it.

Institutional flows have been the primary force driving crypto majors price action over the past 18 months. And now it’s Solana’s turn.

They’ve got ~$3B in SOL TreasuryCo’s incoming and ETFs coming Q4 (though it should be noted that BlackRock isn’t in the mix, the highest volume ETF facilitator).

And a strong ecosystem, with apps like Pump Fun driving top-5 revenue numbers across all of crypto.

It’s certainly not a done deal by any means.

The TreasuryCo’s could end up being underwhelming. The ETFs might not catch much volume in the early months. Leading apps might sputter.

But with many thinking bitcoin will make sweeping new ATHs in Q4 2025 (I’m in this cohort), it’s not a big stretch to think SOL will also make a run.

And it has real drivers.

Time to pay attention, if you haven’t already…

🌎 Macro Crypto and Memes

A few Crypto and Web3 headlines that caught my eye:

• Crypto majors are very green after a surprising soft CPI print; BTC 1.5% at $114,000, ETH +2% at $4,430, XRP +2% at $3.01, SOL +2% at $225
• MNT (+11%), AVAX (+8%) and PUMP (+8%) led top movers
• The Bitcoin ETFs saw $741.5M in net inflows on Wednesday, their highest day since July 16
• Crypto mining stocks IREN, CIFR and CORZ all posted 10%+ gains on Wednesday after Oracle jumped 40%
• Solana (SOL) hit a 7-month high as Bitwise’s CIO argued the ingredients are in place for an “epic” year-end run
• The SEC delayed a decision on whether BlackRock’s spot Ethereum ETF can include staking and also pushed back rulings on Franklin Templeton’s proposed Solana and XRP funds
• Gemini set a higher internal share price ahead of its planned IPO, implying a valuation that could top $3B
• Chainlink said it is working with additional U.S. agencies to bring more government data and processes on-chain, with an eye toward election-related use cases
• Binance and Franklin Templeton announced a collaboration to develop new digital-asset products for a broad investor base
• The SEC set a November decision date for Grayscale’s Hedera Trust, adding to its stack of pending crypto fund reviews
• The Hong Kong Central Bank shared plans to relax requirement for banks holding crypto
• VanEck plans to apply for a Hyperliquid staking ETF

In Corporate Treasuries

• Forward Industries officially closed its $1.65B private placement, with plans to use those funds to buy SOL
• Avalanche aims to raise $1B to create 2 crypto treasury companies holding AVAX, buying those tokens from the foundation at a discount
• POP Culture Group bought $33M of Bitcoin as it expands into entertainment-related crypto holdings

In Memes

• Memecoin leaders are green led by DOGE; DOGE +4%, Shiba +2%, PEPE +2%, PENGU +1%, BONK +2%, TRUMP even, SPX even, and FARTCOIN +4%
• MURICA (+38x) was a top meme mover of the day

💰 Token, Airdrop & Protocol Tracker

Here's a rundown of major token, protocol and airdrop news from the day:

• Linea launched its LINEA token and airdrop, opening at $0.023 ($1.68B FDV)
• Meteora confirmed its MET TGE will take place in October, with a “first of its kind” airdrop claim
• Native Markets secures 53% of Hyperliquid’s USDH vote, jumps to 97% favorite on Polymarket
• World Liberty Fi announced Project Wings on Solana, pushing USD1 pairs live for trading on Bonk and Raydium
• Backpack Exchange said it plans to launch spot trading in “many” U.S. states this year as licensing progresses
• Rekt Drinks introduced their newest flavor ‘Moon Crush' in partnership with MoonPay, with each case purchased coming along with Rekt DRANK points

🤖 AI x Crypto

Section dedicated to headlines in the AI sector of crypto:

• Overall market cap up 1% at $13.9B, leaders were green
• FARTCOIN (+1%), VIRTUAL (+1%), TIBBIR (+16%), aixbt (+3%) & ai16z (+2%)
• LEA (+40%), nuit (+26%) and TIBBIR (+15%) led top movers

🚚 What is happening in NFTs?

Here is the list of other notable headlines from the day in NFTs:

• ETH NFT leaders were mostly even; Punks -1% at 48 ETH, Pudgy -1% at 10.25, BAYC +3% at 9.35 ETH
• Decal by XCOPY +35% was a notable mover
• Abstract NFTs were mixed, led by Gigaverse ROMs (+7%)
• Gondi processed a 750,000 USDC loan for 365 days with an effective 22% APR, against a basket of 2 Lost Robbies and 1 Skull of Luci

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