Solana News Today: Infrastructure Upgrades and ETFs Fuel Solana's Growth, But Price Plunges Defy Optimism

The Solana blockchain is experiencing a surge in liquidity as infrastructure upgrades and institutional adoption drive renewed interest in the network. Recent developments, including a $280 million influx into U.S. Solana ETFs and strategic partnerships to expand stablecoin usage, highlight the ecosystem's growing appeal to investors and developers alike, according to a Cryptonews report.

Web3 infrastructure firm Alchemy has re-architected its Solana stack to handle the rising demand from ETFs, wallets, and trading platforms. The upgrades, which include 20 times faster archive calls and 99.95% uptime, aim to ensure seamless performance under heavy load. The move follows a six-day influx of $280 million into Solana ETFs, with analysts projecting up to $5 billion in inflows over the next year, the report adds.

The infrastructure improvements are critical as Solana competes with Ethereum and other blockchains for institutional capital.

World Liberty Financial (WLFI), linked to U.S. President Donald Trump, is challenging Circle's dominance of Solana's stablecoin market with its USD1 token, according to a Yahoo Finance report. The firm has partnered with memecoin platform Bonk and decentralized exchange Raydium to integrate USD1 into trading pools and launchpads. DeFiLlama data show USDC currently accounts for over $9 billion of the $14.2 billion in stablecoins on Solana, but USD1 has grown rapidly since its April 2025 launch, reaching $2.91 billion in circulation, as detailed in a Cryptonews article. WLFI's strategy includes offering multi-million-dollar incentives to liquidity providers and traders to boost USD1's adoption, the Yahoo piece notes.

Despite the optimism, Solana's price has faced downward pressure, trading at $175 as of November 3, 2025, after a 6% intraday loss, according to an FXStreet forecast. Technical indicators suggest a bearish trend, with the price below the 200-day EMA and a potential breakdown below the $174–$177 support zone risking a 10% drop to $153–$156, the FXStreet analysis warns. Derivatives data also show declining retail interest, with SOL futures open interest dropping 1.56% in 24 hours and long liquidations outpacing shorts by $41.2 million, the forecast adds. However, ETF inflows and infrastructure upgrades have kept the rebound narrative alive, as the Cryptonews report noted.

Regulatory clarity is also shaping Solana's trajectory. The U.S. GENIUS Act of 2025, which defines payment stablecoins and mandates full-reserve backing, has influenced products like Tangem's USDC-based Visa card, according to a Cryptopolitan article. Tangem's self-custody card, launching in 42 countries this November, allows users to spend USDC on the Polygon network while complying with KYC requirements, the article adds. Meanwhile, Solana's active user base dropped 30% in Q3 2025, raising questions about sustained engagement, a TradingView note reports.

Solana's ability to balance rapid growth with technical resilience will be key to maintaining its position as a top blockchain for DeFi and institutional investors. While USDC remains dominant, USD1's aggressive expansion strategy and infrastructure upgrades could reshape the stablecoin landscape. Market participants will closely watch whether the network can sustain liquidity gains amid broader crypto volatility.