October has been a tough start for Solana, with the SOL price having fallen by around 8% as tensions in the Middle East escalate.
After breaking through 160 USD last week, SOL fell back to the mid-$140s on Monday and is currently trading at 146 USD, just above its 50-day moving average (50DMA).
Concerns about a possible all-out war between Iran and Israel may put crypto markets on the defensive in the short term, but the risk is increasing that Solana’s price could see a significant bullish breakout.
Despite the volatility of SOL prices, the Solana ecosystem has performed well.
According to data from DeFi Llama, the trading volume of Solana decentralized exchange (DEX) has continued to recover after the slump from August to mid-September. In the past three days, the trading volume was about 1.5 billion US dollars, surpassing Ethereum at one point.
Solana is one of the friendliest and best quality blockchains for DeFi users and DEX traders in 2024. Its fees are much lower than Ethereum and its transactions are much faster.
Assuming that global central banks continue to ease their policies in the fourth quarter of this year and market risk appetite recovers, Solana is expected to perform strongly.
Solana Price Outlook – Can It Overtake Ethereum?
The SOL price remains stuck in the 120-200 USD range it has been in for months. However, a breakout above the 2021 record high of 260 USD is a strong possibility later this year.
If it breaks above its all-time high, Solana will enter a new phase of price discovery where its potential is limitless. Meanwhile, Ethereum (ETH) is currently priced at $2,446, well below its 2021 all-time high.
If Solana reaches a new all-time high first, Ethereum may have trouble keeping up. However, Ethereum benefits from US spot ETFs , which provide easier access for large institutions.
Therefore, while Solana’s ecosystem growth may continue to outpace Ethereum’s, the latter may still see significant growth.
Currently, Ethereum’s market cap is around $300 billion, while Solana’s market cap is $69 billion.
Does Solana have a chance to grow 5x and become a $300 billion coin? Possibly, but Ethereum could easily double to $600 billion or more in the same time frame. Catching up with Ethereum will be a tough challenge.
