Solana (SOL) Rallies To Become Sixth-Largest Cryptocurrency, Here’s Why

Solana (SOL), the native token on the popular proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain, became the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization following a stellar rally over  the past week. The token jumped two spots in the list on Thursday, overtaking Ripple (XRP) and Cardano (ADA) while also avoiding broader weakness in the crypto market.

SOL jumped nearly 17% over the past seven days and was last trading around $120, its highest level since late-November. The token also rose 0.4% in the past 24 hours, while the broader crypto market fell around 5%.

The token surged through the second half of March, recovering sharply from a seven month low hit in the middle of the month. It had earlier this week overtaken Terra (LUNA) to take the no. 8 spot in the top 10 cryptocurrencies.

SOL sees bullish indicators as mid-March recovery extends

Popular twitter analyst @SmartContracter noted that SOL had shown a bullish morningstar pattern for March, indicating that it was set to recover further after losses earlier in the month. The token is up nearly 33% from its March lows of around $81.

@SmartContracter also noted that SOL’s Bitcoin (BTC) pair exhibited a “clear” ABC pattern, showing that the token was poised for more gains.

Institutional interest, videogame hopes boost Solana

SOL benefited from a slew of positive news through March. Last week, digital asset manager CoinShares, and world no. 3 crypto exchange FTX jointly launched an exchange-traded-product that offers SOL staking rewards without directly buying the token. The product is geared chiefly towards institutional investors, and is expected to draw a large amount of capital to SOL.

The token also makes up nearly a quarter of the weightage in a recently launched smart contracts  fund by digital assets manager Grayscale. Large-scale trading by investment houses is credited with spurring a massive crypto rally in 2021, and as such, is usually a bullish indicator.

Krafton, developer of the wildly popular PUBG videogame, partnered with Solana Labs last week to develop blockchain games, drawing more attention to the token.

Ethereum’s planned shift to a PoS model has also spurred interest in other projects in the space. After recent gains, SOL is the second-largest player in the space.