Solana Price Surges 4% to $161 After ETF Launch, Then Retreats

Solana, a prominent blockchain network, experienced a significant price spike to $161 following the launch of the REX-Osprey SOL Staking ETF. However, this momentum was short-lived, with prices retreating to around $152 within a day. This price movement came after Solana closed June at $155, marking a 1.2% decrease month over month. Despite this decline, Solana's performance was relatively stable compared to the broader altcoin market, although it underperformed Bitcoin and HYPE for the second consecutive month.

The economic indicators for Solana showed mixed results. Real economic value (REV) decreased by 48% in June, while decentralized exchange (DEX) volume dropped by 35%, and Token Holder Net Income plummeted by 56% month over month. Despite these declines, Solana maintained its leadership position across all networks in these metrics. On the positive side, Solana processed over 2.1 billion successful transactions in June, setting a new record. Application revenue reached $150 million, a significant increase from $133 million in May, accounting for 35% of all application revenue across chains. The highest-earning applications, Pump and Axiom, generated over $76 million in June, driven by memecoins and leverage.

The launch of the REX-Osprey SOL Staking ETF was a significant event, with the price of SOL surging to $161 in anticipation. However, the excitement was short-lived as prices quickly fell back to around $146 within a day. At the time of publication, SOL prices hovered around $152. This price volatility highlights the speculative nature of the cryptocurrency market and the impact of major events on asset prices.

Pump, a popular application on the Solana network, surpassed Raydium in DEX volume for the first time, closing June with a 32% share compared to Raydium's 26%. Trading-focused applications now account for nearly 90% of Solana's total application revenue. Additionally, xStocks, tokenized US equities, went live on June 30, with 11 listings and 40 more in the pipeline. Day-one volume for xStocks cleared $1.3 million, indicating strong initial interest.

Validator income on the Solana network is under pressure, with Jito tips dropping to 51% of total REV and the validator set shrinking by 25% due to the Solana Foundation offboarding validators. With first-come-first-served (FCFS) and app-specific sequencing on the horizon, revenue for operators may decline further as latency becomes the primary competitive advantage over fees. In June, Solana apps generated $2.40 in revenue for every $1 in REV, another all-time high. With the pump.fun ICO confirmed, this trend may accelerate further.