Hong Kong has officially approved the world’s first spot Solana Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF), a landmark decision that places the high-performance blockchain alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum in the eyes of institutional investors. The move by Asian regulators, often early adopters of new technology assets, could unlock significant new liquidity for the SOL token by providing a regulated investment vehicle for funds that cannot purchase digital assets directly.

Price Consolidates Below Key Levels

Following the news, Solana’s price has been trading in a range between $180 and $193. This follows a pullback from a September high of nearly $250 and is a notable decline from its all-time high of $294 reached earlier this year. Technical analysts are closely watching the $200 mark as a critical resistance zone, with solid support forming around $175.

An ascending trendline from the $175 support level suggests strong demand during price dips. Analysts note that a daily close above $200 could signal a move toward the $220 level. On the weekly charts, SOL is retesting a key Fibonacci retracement level between $174 and $176, which often indicates the end of a corrective phase. The $180 price point remains a key pivot within an ascending channel, with some projections suggesting a continued trend could push the token toward $230 and eventually $290.

Network Performance Remains a Core Strength

Solana’s underlying technology continues to impress, processing approximately 1,000 transactions per second (TPS) with a theoretical maximum of 65,000 TPS. This makes it the second-fastest blockchain by transaction speed, trailing only the Internet Computer. Furthermore, transaction fees on the network are consistently low, typically costing less than $0.01.

The network’s efficiency was on full display during recent market volatility, which served as a real-world stress test. While other blockchains struggled with congestion and fee spikes, Solana maintained its high throughput without issue, reinforcing its reputation for reliability and scalability.

DeFi Ecosystem Shows Steady Growth

The Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ecosystem on Solana has seen considerable expansion. According to data from DeFiLlama, the Total Value Locked (TVL) across its applications now stands at $11 billion, a significant increase from just $6 billion a year ago. Despite this growth, Ethereum continues to dominate the DeFi landscape with an $83 billion TVL, capturing 63% of the total market.

A similar trend is visible in the stablecoin market, where Solana holds $15 billion in value compared to Ethereum’s $165 million. The network’s ability to attract talent is also strong, as Solana was ranked the top blockchain ecosystem for new developers in 2024.

US ETF Applications Move Forward

In the United States, several fund managers have also filed applications for their own spot Solana ETFs. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has already accepted an application from 21Shares for review, though a final decision is still pending. While the approval process was delayed by a government shutdown, a decision could arrive before the end of 2025.

The potential for a U.S.-based ETF is significant, considering the massive inflows into similar products. Bitcoin ETFs have attracted $62 billion, while Ethereum ETFs have drawn $14 billion, highlighting the substantial institutional appetite for regulated crypto investment products.