Solana is poised to rank as the third-largest cryptocurrency, behind Bitcoin and Ether, according to investment firm Franklin Templeton. The company believes Solana’s technology is well-suited to harness the next wave of crypto adoption, potentially solidifying its position as a major player in the crypto market.
In a recent market analysis released on May 2, Franklin Templeton outlined that activities such as memecoin trading and significant airdrops have contributed to a “wealth effect” that has boosted Solana’s token prices and decentralized exchange volumes. The firm anticipates further airdrops and sustained memecoin trading activity will continue to drive this effect.
According to the firm, Solana is particularly adept at handling upcoming crypto trends such as decentralized physical infrastructure networks, compressed non-fungible tokens, centralized limit order books, and notably micropayments.
Despite experiencing network congestion issues due to high activity levels, Solana is expected to improve with the upcoming Firedancer update, aimed at enhancing its performance capabilities.
As of now, Solana holds the fifth-largest market capitalization in the cryptocurrency space at $65.3 billion and is the fourth-largest blockchain by total value locked, which stands at $3.99 billion, per CoinGecko and DefiLlama respectively.
In another unusual crypto incident, a Bitcoin user mistakenly paid a $100,000 transaction fee for a transfer valued at less than $6.50. The misstep involved an erroneous input of 1.59 BTC as the fee instead of the intended amount for transfer, as reported by Whale Alert on May 4.
Political figures are also engaging more with the crypto sector. Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms have joined Coinbase’s advisory council. Their roles aim to bridge the gap between crypto policy and public understanding, according to Coinbase’s chief policy officer, Faryar Shirzad.
In the realm of blockchain-based publishing, Paragraph is set to take over its competitor Mirror, focusing on enhancing its Web3 social media app, “Kiosk.” The transition will see Paragraph’s founder Colin Armstrong stepping in as CEO while Mirror’s founder Denis Nazarov shifts to an advisor role. The acquisition was announced alongside a $5 million fundraising round led by Union Square Ventures and Coinbase Ventures.
This period also saw Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin ETF record its first inflows of $63 million since transitioning from a trust format in January. Meanwhile, a lawsuit has been filed against Coinbase by a group of its customers, accusing the platform of misleading them into purchasing securities and alleging that its business model is unlawful.