Solana, a cryptocurrency that was once considered “dead or forgotten,” is now poised to become one of the top three cryptocurrencies, according to investment manager Franklin Templeton. In a market note on May 2, the firm stated that Solana has successfully capitalized on the surge of activity in the crypto industry and is well-positioned to capture the next wave of crypto adoption. The recent rise in token prices and decentralized exchange volumes, driven by memecoins like Bonk and Dogwifhat, as well as major airdrops like Jito and Pyth Network, has created a “wealth effect” on Solana. Franklin Templeton believes that more expected airdrops and the continued trading of memecoins will sustain this wealth effect.
Franklin Templeton also highlighted the areas where Solana is uniquely qualified to excel in the future wave of adoption. These include decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePINs), compressed nonfungible tokens (NFTs), centralized limit order books (CLOBs), and payments, especially micropayments. The firm acknowledged the congestion issues faced by the Solana blockchain but mentioned that developers are working on a fix called the Firedancer update, which is expected to be released later this year.
Currently, Solana is the fifth largest cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of $65.3 billion, according to CoinGecko. It is also the fourth-largest blockchain with a total value locked of $3.99 billion, as reported by DefiLlama.
In other news, a Bitcoin user recently made a costly mistake by paying a transaction fee of nearly 1.6 BTC, worth over $100,000, to send only $6.50 worth of the cryptocurrency. It is speculated that this was a case of a self-transfer gone wrong, where the user accidentally swapped the input amounts in the wallet, resulting in the high fee payment.
On the regulatory front, former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is also an adviser to President Joe Biden, have joined Coinbase’s advisory council. This move is aimed at strengthening the relationship between policymakers and the American people. Coinbase had established its Global Advisory Council last year to enhance its political lobbying efforts. However, the exchange is currently facing a lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly operating as an unregistered securities exchange.
In the world of blockchain publishing, Paragraph has acquired rival Mirror and is now focusing on a new Web3 social media app called “Kiosk.” The founder of Paragraph, Colin Armstrong, will take over as CEO, while the founder of Mirror, Denis Nazarov, will serve as an adviser. Additionally, Paragraph has raised $5 million in a fundraising round led by Union Square Ventures and Coinbase Ventures.
Lastly, a class group of Coinbase customers has filed a lawsuit against the exchange, accusing it of deceiving them into buying securities and claiming that its business model is illegal. Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) also saw its first-ever inflows of $63 million on May 3 since its conversion from a trust in January.
In conclusion, Solana’s recent success and potential for future growth, along with other developments in the crypto industry, highlight the continued evolution and adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.