Solana (SOL) has been on a tear recently, with its price surging close to nearly $200 on Saturday, marking its highest point since December 2021. The surge came even as Bitcoin and Ethereum recoiled after a strong week that saw the two leading cryptocurrencies briefly surge above $73,400 and $4,000, respectively.
Solana’s surge signifies a remarkable recovery for the cryptocurrency, which has seen a staggering 766% increase in price since October 15, 2023. Notably, Saturday’s rally coincided with Solana’s Genesis block celebration day, where the community commemorated the occasion with an impressive tally of over 276 billion transactions, a testament to its resilience and scalability. The network currently hosts over 1600 validators and has successfully processed more than 254 million blocks, earning it the esteemed title of CoinMarketCap’s Crypto of the Year for 2024.
The impressive growth of Solana has also catalyzed a surge in the value of other project tokens within its ecosystem, with coins like BOME, JUP, PYTH, RAY, and FIDA witnessing substantial price increases, underlining investor confidence in Solana’s ecosystem.
Solana’s resurgence comes after a tumultuous period in 2021-2022, marked by a significant drop in value. The implosion of the crypto exchange FTX, attributed to alleged fraudulent activities by Sam Bankman-Fried, its then CEO, exacerbated Solana’s decline. Bankman-Fried’s involvement in market manipulation and fraud allegations had cast a shadow over Solana-based projects, often called “Samcoins.”
However, with Bankman-Fried behind bars and efforts to refund affected FTX customers underway, Solana has been on a path to recovery as the network community distanced itself from the controversies surrounding Bankman-Fried and FTX, focusing on its technological advancements and community-driven initiatives.
Notably, on Friday, federal prosecutors urged a New York judge to impose a 40- to 50-year sentence for Sam Bankman-Fried, citing cryptocurrency-related offences they characterized as unprecedented deception. Scheduled for sentencing on March 28 in Manhattan federal court, the 32-year-old Bankman-Fried faces convictions from November on fraud and conspiracy charges.
At press time, SOL was trading at $185, reflecting an 11.60% price surge over the past 48 hours, according to CoinMarketCap data. According to a tweet by popular crypto analyst Rekt Capital, the price is likely to push to $200, having broken and stayed above the $172 minor resistance.
