UPDATED Solana (SOL) hit a 5-month-high of more than $200 on Tuesday driven by renewed interest in alternative cryptocurrencies and positive developments surrounding the blockchain's technological infrastructure.
Altcoin advance
The token, along with Ether (ETH) and XRP, have posted gains of more than 20% in the past seven days, supported by positive regulatory developments and industry promotion by the US government and as investors took a rest from driving Bitcoin (BTC) to all-time-highs. SOL hit $204.80 and was up 1.4% at $198.46 at 10:49 UTC.
New block-building architecture
A key catalyst for Solana's surge may have come from the Jito Foundation and Jito Labs, which unveiled their Block Assembly Marketplace (BAM) in a statement released late Monday. This new block-building architecture promises to enhance trading efficiency and transparency on the Solana network.
“It gives builders more control, creates new ways to generate and share value, and lays the groundwork for a more dynamic, composable blockspace economy on Solana,” Lucas Bruder, CEO of Jito Labs, said in the statement. “Our goal is to grow the pie—by making Solana more transparent, programmable, and rewarding for everyone contributing to its success.”
The technology aims to deliver "faster, fairer trading" through a more transparent transaction processing system, addressing longstanding concerns about transaction ordering and market efficiency.
Bit Mining investment
SOL has more than doubled in value since this year’s 7 April low and has put on a particularly impressive performance in recent weeks, climbing more than 30% in July alone amid more sustained investor confidence in the platform.
BIT Mining, the American cryptocurrency miner, said earlier this month it would invest $200 million to $300 million to acquire Solana digital coins and set up a corporate treasury. Describing the move as a strategic shift CEO Xianfeng Yang said at the time he believes Solana is “one of the most dynamic and promising ecosystems in the blockchain space.”
Bullish forecasts
In May, Standard Chartered’s Geoff Kendrick forecasted Solana to hit $275 by end‑2025 and $500 by 2029. VanEck, an investment manager and ETF issuer, has been even bolder, targeting $520 by December 2025. Both analysts have argued that memecoin hype alone isn’t a durable growth engine. Kendrick has said SOL can only break out if it proves real‑world utility – finance, social apps, anything with staying power.
A step in that direction came in May when enterprise‑blockchain firm R3 partnered with the Solana Foundation, letting clients such as HSBC, Bank of America, Euroclear and the Monetary Authority of Singapore test tokenizing real‑world assets on Solana’s public chain. It’s solid TradFi (Traditional Finance) validation, but until more production‑grade deals land, SOL may keep trading below what the tech could ultimately justify.
Open interest up 50%
Open interest on Solana futures rose to $11.6 billion, up 50% from last Tuesday, according to data provider CoinGlass. The surge points to a rapid influx of leveraged capital into the market. With futures markets now heavily loaded, any sharp move in SOL is more likely to trigger liquidations—long or short. A further escalation in open interest would increase the risk of volatility in the token.
