Coin Market

3 reasons why Solana (SOL) price rallied above $140

Published

1 week ago

March 24, 2025

Solana’s native token, SOL (SOL), gained 8.5% on March 24, reclaiming the $142 mark for the first time in two weeks. This rally mirrored the gains seen across the broader cryptocurrency market as traders began to expect reduced risks of an economic downturn. The growing risk appetite can also be seen among memecoins, several of which rallied by 12% or more since March 23.

Outside of the broad market rally, SOL has its own merits, including a rise in network activity and the direct involvement of US President Donald Trump with the memecoin market. Additionally, growing interest from top traders on exchanges and the increasing likelihood of a spot Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval suggest further potential for SOL’s price growth.

SOL/USD (green) vs. crypto market cap (orange). Source: TradingView / Cointelegraph

Despite the recent rally, SOL has underperformed the broader crypto market by 23.7% over the past two months. This weakness is linked to a 93% decline in Solana network fees during that period. The decline likely began with traders’ disappointment in the memecoin sector but gradually affected the entire decentralized application (DApps) market.

SOL still trades 52% below its all-time high

Traders now question whether the selling was an overreaction, as SOL is currently trading 52% below its all-time high of $295. This comes despite Solana remaining the second-largest blockchain in terms of total value locked (TVL) and ranking third in onchain volumes. For comparison, BNB is trading 20% below its all-time high, and XRP is 28% below its peak.

Blockchains ranked by total value locked (TVL), USD. Source: DefiLlama

While Tron and BNB Chain provide competition in terms of onchain volumes, deposits in Solana network’s smart contracts are valued at $6.8 billion. In third place, BNB Chain holds 21% less TVL, with $5.4 billion. Key highlights on Solana include the Jito liquid staking solution, Kamino lending and liquidity platform, and the Jupiter decentralized exchange.

The fees on the Solana network are now higher than those on the Ethereum base layer, surpassing $1 million per day. More importantly, Solana’s revenue has recently reached its highest levels in two weeks. While still far from the levels seen two months ago, the increase in Solana network activity suggests that the bottom may have been reached as the numbers continue to improve steadily.

Solana network daily fees, USD. Source: DefilLlama

As a comparison, Ethereum accrued less than $350,000 in fees on March 23, leading to an increase in ETH supply as the built-in burn mechanism failed to offset weak blockchain activity. Solana, on the other hand, offers a 7.7% native staking reward rate, surpassing the equivalent 5.1% inflation rate, according to StakingRewards data.

Solana ETF decision nears while Trump tweet boosts memecoin momentum

Despite SOL’s price weakness, top traders on Binance have increased their leveraged long (bull) positions on SOL, according to CoinGlass data.

Binance top traders’ long-to-short SOL ratio. Source: CoinGlass

The long-to-short ratio among top traders on Binance surged to 2.40 on March 23, its highest level in over two months. Part of the excitement can be attributed to the anticipation of the spot Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval in the US.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to issue its final verdict before the end of the year, according to Matthew Sigel, VanEck’s head of digital asset research. Although success is not guaranteed, the eventual spot Solana ETF approval would set SOL apart from its competitors, adding legitimacy to the asset, especially among institutional investors.

Another source of momentum came from a weekend social post by President Trump, which explicitly mentioned the TRUMP memecoin and helped to create a buzz in the sector. In the Solana ecosystem, Fartcoin gained 15% on March 24, Dogwifhat (WIF) rallied 12%, and Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) traded up by 12%.

Ultimately, SOL has significant potential for higher gains, given the network’s TVL and fees, especially in comparison to competitors, along with bullish positioning from whales using leverage.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Coin Market

Bitcoin gets $71K target as tariffs deal rare US business outlook slump

Published

2 hours ago

April 3, 2025

Bitcoin (BTC) faces conditions similar to the 2022 bear market bottom as US business sees “very high risk” to come.

In his latest analysis, Charles Edwards, the founder of quantitative Bitcoin and digital asset fund Capriole Investments, queried when the US would start printing money.

”Higher than expected” US tariffs pressure Bitcoin

Bitcoin reacted noticeably worse than US stocks after President Donald Trump announced worldwide reciprocal trade tariffs on April 2.

BTC/USD fell up to 8.5% on the day, while the S&P 500 managed to end the Wall Street trading session 0.7% higher.

Despite this, Edwards notes that US business expectations reflect the type of uncertainty seen only three times since the turn of the millennium.

“Consider this as tariffs come in higher than expected. The Philly Fed Business Outlook survey is showing expectations today comparable to 2000, 2008 and 2022,” he told X followers.

An accompanying chart showed the Philadelphia Fed’s Business Outlook Survey (BOS) back under 15 for the first time since the start of 2024. Late 2022, meanwhile, was the pit of the most recent crypto bear market when BTC/USD reversed at $15,600.

Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey vs. S&P 500. Source: Charles Edwards/X

In Capriole’s latest market update on March 31, Edwards acknowledged that BOS data can produce unreliable signals over market sentiment but argued that it should not be ignored.

“While no guarantee of the future outlook (this metric does have false signals) this is a data reading we have had before at very high risk zones (year 2000, 2008 and 2022), telling us to keep a very open mind,” he wrote.

“Especially if the tariff war escalates significantly beyond current expectations or corporate margins start to fall.”

For Bitcoin, a key level to watch in the tariff aftermath is $91,000, with Capriole suggesting that US macroeconomic moves would “decide the ultimate technical trend from here.”

“All else equal, a daily close above $91K would be a strong bullish reclaim signal,” the update explained alongside the weekly BTC/USD chart.

“Failing that, a dip into the $71K zone would likely see a sizable bounce.”

BTC/USD 1-day chart (screenshot). Source: Capriole Investments

BTC price focus on US liquidity trend

As Cointelegraph reported, a silver lining for crypto and risk assets could come in the form of increasing global liquidity.

In the US, the Fed has already begun to loosen tight financial policy, with bets on a return to so-called quantitative easing (QE) varying.

“How long until the Powell printer starts humming?” Edwards queried.

M2 money supply, meanwhile, is due for an “influx” — something which has historically spawned major BTC price upside.

“The BIG take-away (the most important observation) is that a big M2 influx is coming. The exact date is less important,” popular analyst Colin Talks Crypto predicted in an X thread this week.

A comparative chart hinted at a potential BTC price rebound by the start of May.

US M2 money supply vs BTC/USD chart. Source: Colin Talks Crypto/X

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

Coin Market

Alabama, Minnesota lawmakers join US states pushing for Bitcoin reserves

Published

2 hours ago

April 3, 2025

Lawmakers in the US states of Minnesota and Alabama filed companion bills to identical existing bills that if passed into law, would allow each state to buy Bitcoin.

The Minnesota Bitcoin Act, or HF 2946, was introduced to the state’s House by Republican Representative Bernie Perryman on April 1, following an identical bill introduced on March 17 by GOP state Senator Jeremy Miller.

Meanwhile, on the same day in Alabama, Republican state Senator Will Barfoot introduced Senate Bill 283, while a bi-partisan group of representatives led by Republican Mike Shaw filed the identical House Bill 482, which allows for the state to invest in crypto, but essentially limits it to Bitcoin (BTC).

Twin Alabama bills don’t explicitly name Bitcoin

Minnesota’s Bitcoin Act would allow the state’s investment board to invest state assets in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and permit state employees to add crypto to retirement accounts.

It would also exempt crypto gains from state income taxes and give residents the option to pay state taxes and fees with Bitcoin.

Source: Bitcoin Laws

The twin Alabama bills don’t explicitly identify Bitcoin, but would limit the state’s crypto investment into assets that have a minimum market value of $750 billion, a criterion that only Bitcoin currently meets.

26 Bitcoin reserve bills now introduced in the US

Introducing identical bills is not uncommon in the US and is typically done to speed up the bicameral legislative process so laws can pass more quickly.

Bills to create a Bitcoin reserve have been introduced in 26 US states, with Arizona currently the closest to passing a law to make one, according to data from the bill tracking website Bitcoin Laws.

Arizona currently leads in the US state Bitcoin reserve race. Source: Bitcoin Laws

Pennsylvania was one of the first US states to introduce a Bitcoin reserve bill, in November 2024. However, the initiative was reportedly eventually rejected, with similar bills also killed in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.

Montana, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Wyoming are the five states thathave rejected Bitcoin reserve initiatives. Source: Bitcoin Laws

According to a March 3 report by Barron’s, “red states” like Montana have faced setbacks to the Bitcoin reserve initiatives amid political confrontations between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.

Additional reporting by Helen Partz.

Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again

Coin Market

Treasure DAO announces huge pivot in hopes of extending runway to February

Published

3 hours ago

April 3, 2025

Decentralized video game ecosystem Treasure DAO is restructuring as “a matter of survival” to extend its financial runway to at least February 2026.

Treasure DAO’s chief contributor John Patten says in an April 2 video posted to X that he has resumed a leadership role and is taking a plan to the DAO to streamline operations, eliminate unnecessary costs, and center the organization around a few key projects.

“I will introduce this after all of you provide your opinions at this time. I have my own thoughts, but we must make this decision as a community through long deliberation. The best ideas need to rise to the surface,” he said.

The Next Chapter of Treasure

We’re releasing an official statement on our pivotal transition, outlining the rationale behind leadership changes, financial restructuring, and our bold new strategic direction.

Full details pic.twitter.com/BjWgZxc98l

— Treasure (@Treasure_DAO) April 2, 2025

As part of cost-cutting to reduce Treasure DAO’s annual burn rate of $8.3 million, Patten says 15 contributors have either left or been laid off, and game publishing support and the treasure chain will be terminated.

At the same time, he is proposing to withdraw an idle $785,000 from the market maker Flowdesk to increase the DAO’s treasury.

Patten says that, with the current runway, “stablecoins will last until roughly December,” but if the DAO approves withdrawing the funds from Flowdesk, this could be extended to February 2026, in “an optimistic scenario.”

The DAO’s current treasury only has $2.4 million left, and the ecosystem fund holds 22.3 million MAGIC, valued at $2.3 million, according to Patten, but if “Magic falls,” the DAO is “unsustainable sometime between December and February.”

Treasure DAO to refocus on four products

Patten says the DAO also needs to focus its energy on a few key products and future partnerships will be based on revenue generation for the DAO, where users of the platform will need to generate value through token use.

“The DAO should officially commit to a focused, streamlined approach of four products and four products only, the marketplace, Bridgeworld, Smolworld and AI agent, scaling technology,” he said.

“That’s all that Treasure should be through 2025. Bridgeworld and Smolworld will be use cases to demonstrate how other projects utilize magic marketplace and our AI framework and back end to run many, many agents concurrently.”

TreasureDAO, launched in 2021, offered services to provide game publishers access to infrastructure and advisory services to launch Web3-based games.

However, Patten says it “didn’t have a scalable business model” and hasn’t grown since the Arbitrum airdrop in March 2023.

The Treasure ecosystem token MAGIC is down 16.5% to $0.0872 for the last 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. Overall, the token has shed 98% after hitting its all-time high of $6.32 on Feb. 19, 2022.

Magazine: Financial nihilism in crypto is over — It’s time to dream big again