SOL Gains Institutional Interest as Tokenized Assets and ETFs Drive Adoption

Solana’s role in tokenizing real-world assets, particularly equities, is expanding, with tokenized asset volumes rising significantly in 2025 and expected to continue driving demand for the Solana token.

The approval of Solana spot ETFs in late 2025 has provided traditional investors with easier access to the asset, potentially increasing capital inflows and mainstream adoption.

A class-action lawsuit involving key Solana stakeholders poses a potential risk to the ecosystem and could create short-term volatility for investors.

Solana is being positioned as a leading platform for tokenized equities due to its high throughput and low transaction costs. This has led to increased on-chain activity, with decentralized exchange volumes and stablecoin adoption surging. In 2025, Solana processed 33.1 billion transactions and generated $2.39 billion in revenue from applications on the network.

The approval of Solana spot ETFs in late 2025 has enabled traditional investors to gain exposure to the asset without needing crypto wallets. These ETFs have attracted $765 million in cumulative inflows and over $1 billion in assets under management by early 2026. This institutional adoption has contributed to Solana's growing relevance as a mainstream financial asset.

Solana Mobile is airdropping 2 billion $SKR tokens on January 21, 2026, as part of its governance model. This airdrop represents 20% of the total supply and is tied to on-chain activity during Seeker Season 1. The $SKR token operates on Solana’s TEEPIN architecture and is used to delegate to Guardians, who are responsible for device verification and dApp curation.

Validator adoption of a critical security patch remains low, with only 18% of staked value upgraded to the latest version as of January 10, 2026. This has left over 50% of the network's staked value on outdated software, raising infrastructure and security concerns. The active validator count has also dropped by 42% over the past year, partly due to the Solana Foundation's 'pruning' initiative to remove underperforming operators.

What Role Does Solana Play in Tokenizing Real-World Assets?

Solana is playing a key role in the tokenization of real-world assets, particularly equities, due to its fast and low-cost transaction capabilities. This has led to increased demand for the Solana token, as tokenized asset trades require the use of the native token. The growing tokenized asset base on Solana is expected to continue driving long-term value for the network.

Solana's infrastructure has attracted developers in finance, gaming, and IoT, who are building scalable blockchain applications on the network. The platform's speed, scalability, and low fees make it ideal for real-time data processing and decentralized finance (DeFi) integrations.

What Impact Could Solana's Security Patch Adoption Have on the Network?

The slow adoption of Solana’s latest validator security patch has left a significant portion of the network's staked value on outdated software, increasing the risk of vulnerabilities in the proof-of-stake consensus. As of January 10, 2026, 51.3% of network stake remained on the older v3.0.13 client, while only 18% had upgraded to the secure v3.0.14 version.

This slow upgrade rate highlights broader infrastructure challenges for Solana, including a 42% decline in active validator count over the past year. These trends raise questions about network security and long-term operational stability. The Solana Foundation has taken steps to improve network quality by implementing 'pruning' to remove underperforming operators.

How Does Solana Mobile’s $SKR Token Affect Governance and Participation?

Solana Mobile’s $SKR token is designed to align platform governance with active user and developer participation, rather than speculative ownership. The token operates on Solana’s TEEPIN architecture and allows users to delegate their holdings to Guardians, who are responsible for device verification and dApp curation.

The $SKR airdrop is part of a broader tokenomics framework, with future airdrops planned to continue distributing tokens to eligible participants. During Seeker Season 1, over 100,000 users engaged with dApps on the network, generating $2.6 billion in trading volume.

Users must activate a second-generation Seeker smartphone and engage in on-chain activities to be eligible for the airdrop. Once claimed, $SKR tokens can be staked to earn rewards and participate in governance decisions. This approach aims to decentralize control and incentivize ecosystem growth.

The SKR token uses a linear inflation model, starting at 10% annually and decreasing over six years until it reaches 2%. This model is intended to reward early stakers and maintain long-term stability in the ecosystem.

The integration of $SKR with the second-generation Seeker smartphone enables direct staking and on-chain governance for users and developers. This marks a key step in Solana Mobile's strategy to expand decentralized governance and developer incentives.