Solana News Today: Regulators Watch as Solana's Speed Fuels Institutional Bet on Altcoin ETFs

Critics have raised concerns over Solana's network performance, particularly the high rate of failed transactions, as Cardano SPO representatives scrutinize its operations. Dave, a Cardano SPO, highlighted that a single bot sent nearly 11 million transactions in 30 days, with 99.95% failing. He warned that these transactions remain on the ledger, increasing the burden on explorers and analytical platforms reliant on clean data [3]. Despite these criticisms, supporters of Solana argue that even after filtering out failed and consensus transactions, the network's throughput remains impressive [3].

The scrutiny has not dampened Solana's growing institutional confidence. The recent approval of a Solana ETF by Kazakhstan’s Astana International Exchange marks the first $SOL ETF with staking in Central Asia [3]. This move, combined with VanEck’s filing for a spot Solana ETF backed by JitoSOL, further validates the network's legitimacy and adoption [3]. These developments are particularly beneficial for projects like Snorter Token ($SNORT), which is preparing to launch its Telegram trading bot on Solana [3]. The platform will leverage Solana’s speed and low fees, processing an average of 923 transactions per second (tps) with a maximum throughput of 65,000 tps—546x faster than Ethereum’s 19.87 average tps [3]. This makes Solana not only more cost-effective but also a strategic choice for high-performance trading applications.

The potential for a Solana ETF in the U.S. is also generating momentum. Analysts on Polymarket have pegged the approval odds for Solana at 95%, with institutions like Grayscale, Franklin Templeton, Bitwise, and VanEck already submitting applications to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) [2]. If approved, the influx of institutional capital could significantly boost Solana’s price. Analysts estimate that Solana’s price could rise toward $335, with some suggesting even higher potential [2]. This would also create a more stable trading environment by increasing liquidity and narrowing bid-ask spreads [2].

In contrast, Cardano faces its own challenges. While it remains a top-tier project with a strong long-term vision, the scrutiny over its network performance—especially in the context of decentralized finance (DeFi)—has led to questions about its scalability and real-world adoption [3]. Critics have pointed to the project’s slow progress in key areas, including smart contract execution and developer activity [1]. However, Cardano’s legal clarity gives it a unique advantage over other altcoins. Its public sales of XRP have been declared non-secure by a court, giving it a stronger legal position compared to Solana, which still faces SEC scrutiny regarding whether SOL is an unregistered security [2].

The broader implications of Solana and XRP ETF approvals extend beyond the two tokens themselves. If the U.S. SEC greenlights these products, it could serve as a turning point for the altcoin space, legitimizing a range of blockchain assets and encouraging a wave of new ETF applications [2]. This would likely spark a race among top-tier projects to secure similar approvals, driving innovation and demand for transparency. Europe already has access to altcoin ETFs through issuers like 21Shares, but the U.S. market remains the key prize for global adoption [2].

Meanwhile, Snorter Token’s $SNORT is gaining traction as a project poised to benefit from the growing institutional and retail interest in Solana. The token’s presale allows early investors to purchase at $0.1037, with projections indicating it could surpass the $1 mark within the year [3]. This potential is underpinned by the platform’s MEV protection, honeypot and rug-pull detection features, and its commitment to offering low-fee, high-speed trading on a network increasingly recognized by institutional players [3]. As Solana continues to attract more attention from both critics and supporters, the ecosystem surrounding it—like Snorter—stands to grow alongside the network’s increasing adoption and legitimacy.

Source:

[1] Solana, XRP, and Cardano May Lead First Altcoin ETF Approvals (https://cryptodnes.bg/en/solana-xrp-and-cardano-may-lead-first-altcoin-etf-approvals/)

[2] Spot Solana/XRP ETF buzz - Here's what approval would (https://eng.ambcrypto.com/spot-solana-xrp-etf-buzz-heres-what-approval-would-do-to-their-prices-to-their-prices/)

[3] Critics Back Solana Under Cardano SPO Scrutiny, Snorter to Thrive on the Network’s Strengths (https://www.newsbtc.com/news/solana-and-snorter-pump-despite-tps-criticism/)