Solana (SOL), the cryptocurrency that powers the high-performance Solana protocol, a layer-1 smart-contract-enabled blockchain known for its fast transaction speeds and high throughout, has been recovering in tandem with the broader market on Wednesday.
SOL was last up around 3.5% and trading in the mid-$21s, with the price hovering between its 100 and 200-day Moving Averages.
Weak US economic data has bolstered the broader market, with other major coins also pushing higher, and Solana bulls are eyeing a retest of resistance-turned-support-turned-resistance again around the $22.20 zone.
News that Solana Pay, a decentralized, open source, peer-to-peer payments protocol built on the Solana blockchain by Solana Labs, is now available to millions of US merchants after an integration with Shopify Inc may also be boosting the price.
As per Solana’s head of commerce, Josh Fried speaking via an announcement made on the official Solana website, “Solana Pay on Shopify opens up millions of merchants to a more dynamic and efficient payment choice, while consumers get the convenience of increased utility of being able to pay to goods and services with digital dollar currencies from the vast network of merchants using Shopify”.
Price Prediction – Where Next for Solana (SOL)?
While Solana’s latest rally has taken it up around 10% versus its earlier weekly lows near $19, SOL remains stuck well within its $13-$33 ranges of the last few months.
With the cryptocurrency marooned close to some of its major moving averages and not in any obvious trend right now, price predictions are difficult to make.
Depending on the near-term direction of the broader market, Solana could fall a further 40% back to its mid-June lows around $13 or rally a further 50% back to its yearly highs above $32.
Crypto markets are currently caught in a bind between optimism about potential spot Bitcoin ETF approvals (and Ether futures ETF approvals) in the coming months, which would spur institutional adoption and pessimism regarding the US regulatory outlook, as well as the rising risk interest rates in the US remain higher for longer.
Solana is particularly vulnerable to the regulation theme since the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) labeled it as an unregistered security.
Can SOL 10x from Here?
While the medium-term outlook remains uncertain, Solana’s long-term outlook continues to look robust.
Despite being home to a rapidly growing ecosystem of decentralized applications that have, in the past, attracted wide usage, Solana’s trade value locked (TVL) is currently only around $1 billion, as per DeFi Llama.
TVL is a proxy for the dollar value of all crypto locked in smart contracts on a blockchain, or in a protocol.
In the past, Solana’s TVL has been as high as $15 billion.
As Solana’s blockchain grows in adoption – which partnerships with major firms like Shopify will help – there is room for plenty of capital to return to its DeFi ecosystem, and that could power big upside for the token.
Solana’s market cap was last around $8.7 billion.
Given Bitcoin’s is currently around $516 billion and Ethereum;s is over $200 billion, a 10x rally to nearly $90 billion during the next bull market should not be discounted.
Solana (SOL) Alternative to Consider
It’s always smart for meme coin investors to hedge their bets, given the unpredictability of the market.
One excellent Solana alternative that meme coin investors should consider is a new coin being launched by Wall Street Memes, one of the internet’s largest retail investing communities.
Wall Street Memes, with its over 1 million following across various social media channels, has traditionally described itself as “the king of stonks” (stocks for the uninitiated), but is also looking to claim the crown of being “the king of crypto”, with the launch of its very own meme coin token $WSM.
The presale of $WSM has been a resounding success, with over $25 million raised, and dozens of major crypto industry influencers and analysts backing the coin for major success.
And investors are running out of time to get involved, with the presale scheduled to end in under 36 days.
Get in now on a token that could match or even surpass the likes of Pepe Coin, Dogecoin and Shiba Inu.
Buy $WSM Here
Disclaimer: Crypto is a high-risk asset class. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. You could lose all of your capital.
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