The crypto and blockchain industry moved a step further in the direction of global adoption in early January, after an impressive 11 spot ETFs were approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Ethereum, being the closest competitor to Bitcoin, has been in a wave of speculation ever since, with investors and enthusiasts asking "wen Ethereum ETF?".
In this article though, we'll do you one better: How close are we to a Solana ETF?
Is a Solana ETF even viable? What happens if we do get one?
Let's find out:
In a series of posts on X, Franklin Templeton, one of the biggest asset management companies in the world, showed its appreciation for the Solana network and its creator, Anatoly Yakovenko.
The company's digital assets team praised Solana for its inventiveness and remarkable success in the most recent quarter, even making a joke about changing their profile photo to something related to Solana.
Speculation and hype thrive on Twitter (X), and it wasn't long before Solana ETF speculation started to fly around.
The fuel to all of this speculation was the unsolicited praise a traditional finance giant like Franklin Templeton suddenly began showering on this crypto network—which frankly, is the closest competitor to Ethereum there is.
In terms of throughput, Solana's powers trump Ethereum's by far.
With an average transaction fee of less than $0.01, the network can theoretically handle more than 50,000 transactions in a second.
Solana's Proof of History (PoH) consensus mechanism is the first of its kind and helps the network organize transactions and events on the blockchain.
Moreso, just like Ethereum, Solana also supports smart contracts, and is in the middle of a Defi boom, as more developers flock to the network
Franklin Templeton, in its tweet, also applauded Yakovenko's idea of building a "single atomic state machine" that would harness the potential of blockchain, to open up new possibilities for the industry.
To prove that Franklin Templeton did its homework, they even went as far as listing some of the notable developments on the Solana network in the last quarter like DePin, the booming Defi growth, memecoins, NFTs, and the Firedancer upgrade.
"And we are impressed by all the activity seen on Solana in Q4 2023 (like) DePIN, DeFi, Memecoins, NFT innovation, (and) Firedancer"
Members of the X crypto community became very excited and curious about Franklin Templeton's sudden compliments on Solana.
Many wanted to know whether the company was planning on taking things a step further by bypassing Bitcoin and Ethereum and filing for a Solana ETF at some point.
Speculation about several kinds of ETFs has been quite rampant on X over the last week. Several commentators have voiced speculation about ETFs on Ethereum, Solana, and even Polkadot and Cardano.
This comes after spot Bitcoin ETFs were approved in the US, only a few days ago, on 11 January this year.
Overall, time will tell which cryptocurrency gets an ETF next. However, cryptos like Ethereum, Solana and maybe XRP remain at the top of the ETF waiting list.
According to data from CoinMarketCap, Solana currently trades at around $100.44, in an obvious struggle with this price resistance.
Solana is up by nearly 50% over the last month, suggesting some degree of underlying bullishness, despite its struggles.
However, according to TradingView charts, Solana appears to be stuck in the middle of a struggle between its bulls and bears.
The chart above shows that Solana has held its ground above the ascending trendline, and has even rebounded off it for the third time in a row, from around $95.
From this perspective, the RSI on the daily chart shows a neutral standing.
However, considering how there is an impending bullish crossover on the RSI-based MACD, it is safe to assume that if a break above $100 doesn't occur now, it is bound to happen very soon.
The verdict on Solana at this point is bullish, with price targets anywhere from $124 to $150, depending on the strength of the bulls.
Disclaimer: Voice of Crypto aims to deliver accurate and up-to-date information, but it will not be responsible for any missing facts or inaccurate information. Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile financial assets, so research and make your own financial decisions.