Solana News Today: Institutional Gold Rush: Solana’s Surge Raises Questions About Sustained Growth

Solana has surpassed 2.9 billion transactions in August, a figure that aligns with Ethereum’s lifetime total, according to onchain data. This milestone highlights the network’s rapid growth and competitive positioning in the blockchain industry. The achievement comes amid broader developments in the Solana ecosystem, including strategic institutional moves and technical upgrades. Solana’s throughput was recently enhanced by the Alpenglow upgrade, which reduced transaction finality to 150 milliseconds and increased the network’s capacity to 107,540 transactions per second [2]. These improvements are expected to bolster the platform’s appeal to developers and enterprises seeking high-performance blockchain solutions.

The surge in transaction volume coincides with increased institutional interest in Solana, particularly as firms like SOL Strategies move to expand their exposure to the network. SOL Strategies, a publicly traded company focused on Solana staking and infrastructure, announced its listing on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, with trading set to begin on September 9 under the ticker STKE. The firm held 435,064 SOL tokens as of August 31, valued at approximately CAD$122 million. The company cited enhanced visibility, liquidity, and access to capital as key benefits of the Nasdaq listing [1]. This development underscores the growing institutional validation of Solana as a high-capacity blockchain platform.

Solana’s rising prominence is also reflected in its open interest (OI) figures, which reached a record high of $13.68 billion in futures markets, signaling robust speculative activity among traders. The increase in OI has been accompanied by a 17% price surge for SOL, which rose to around $217 amid bullish technical indicators. Analysts have noted the formation of a megaphone pattern and a cup-and-handle chart pattern, both of which suggest the potential for further price appreciation. If the price breaks above $210, it could target $260 or higher, depending on market dynamics and institutional adoption.

Despite the strong price and derivatives market momentum, onchain activity has shown mixed signals. Over the past 30 days, Solana’s transaction count has declined by 99%, contrasting with a 39% increase in Ethereum transactions during the same period. The drop in transaction volume raises questions about the scalability of Solana’s user base and the sustainability of its price rally. Additionally, decentralized exchange (DEX) activity on Solana has declined for three consecutive weeks, with volumes falling by 65% to $10.673 billion [2]. These figures suggest that while institutional demand for Solana is rising, organic usage and developer activity may not yet support a long-term price trajectory.

The competitive landscape for blockchain networks is intensifying, with Solana vying for a dominant position alongside Ethereum and emerging rivals. The recent performance of DeFi Development Corp, another firm focused on Solana staking, illustrates the broader institutional interest in the network. The company’s Solana treasury holdings have surpassed $412 million, more than doubling since July. This trend is part of a growing race among publicly traded firms to accumulate Solana for staking and yield generation [5]. As the ecosystem expands, the ability of Solana to maintain user growth and developer engagement will be critical to its long-term success.

Source:

[1] SOL Strategies Wins Nasdaq Listing, Shares to Trade ... (https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/09/05/sol-strategies-wins-nasdaq-listing-shares-to-trade-under-stke)

[2] Solana Open Interest Hits $13B All-time High (https://cointelegraph.com/news/solana-charts-1000-sol-price-target-open-interest-all-time-highs)

[3] Solana Treasury Company SOL Strategies to Begin Trading ... (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/solana-treasury-company-sol-strategies-204608223.html)

[4] Solana On-Chain Data and Charts for Transactions, Fees ... (https://www.theblock.co/data/on-chain-metrics/solana)

[5] DeFi Development Corp's Solana treasury exceeds $400M ... (https://cointelegraph.com/news/defi-development-corp-solana-treasury-exceeds-400m)