Crypto for Advisors: Breaking Down Solana

Despite previous setbacks, Solana has emerged as a leading platform for retail activity, particularly in the fast-growing sectors of meme coins and NFTs.

Written By

Josh Olszewicz, Canary Capital

Published By

Sarah Morton, CoinDesk

June 5, 2025

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Solana’s Rise: Resilience, Regulation, and the Road to Adoption

Solana has emerged as a formidable player in the blockchain arena, showcasing remarkable resilience in the face of significant challenges. Despite setbacks such as the FTX collapse and network outages, Solana has rebounded impressively, with its native token, SOL, experiencing substantial growth since its lows in late 2022. The platform's appeal lies in its high-speed, low-cost transactions, positioning it as a preferred choice for both developers and users. However, concerns about centralization persist, stemming from the network's reliance on a limited number of validators and high hardware requirements. While Solana operates on a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, offering scalability and staking yield, the legal classification of the SOL token remains a contentious issue in the United States, with the Securities and Exchange Commission yet to provide definitive guidance.

Amid the global disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, Solana Labs launched the Solana blockchain and its native token, SOL, in March 2020. Backed by leading venture capital firms including a16z, Jump, Multicoin Capital and Polychain Labs, as well as the now-defunct Alameda Research, the platform quickly differentiated itself through high-speed, low-cost transactions, offering a compelling alternative to legacy Layer 1 protocols such as Ethereum (ETH), Binance Smart Chain (BNB) and Tron (TRX). Competing platforms, such as Avalanche (AVAX), Polkadot (DOT), and NEAR Protocol (NEAR), followed later that year, intensifying the race for smart contract dominance.

Solana operates on a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism, which allows users to secure the network and participate in governance by staking tokens. Unlike Bitcoin’s proof-of-work, proof-of-stake networks such as Solana rely on validators — entities entrusted with maintaining the ledger and processing transactions. Solana's governance is partially influenced by stake-weighted voting, similar to a representative democracy, where the validators with the most staked assets wield the most influence.

Solana’s early momentum was fueled by endorsements from Sam Bankman-Fried and the now-defunct FTX exchange, which portrayed Solana as a faster and more scalable alternative to Ethereum. Bankman-Fried’s entities invested heavily in the ecosystem and built significant infrastructure around it. However, the collapse of FTX and Alameda Research in late 2022 revealed material centralization risks. Both firms held significant positions in SOL, and their bankruptcy triggered a sharp sell-off, raising questions about token distribution and ecosystem resilience.

In 2023, Solana faced further scrutiny when the SEC, under Chair Gary Gensler, identified SOL as a potential unregistered security in lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase. Robinhood subsequently delisted SOL, causing the asset to plummet to an extreme low, which was only surpassed by the FTX fallout. Nonetheless, SOL appreciated nearly 700% between October 2023 and March 2024, reflecting robust retail demand and increasing developer activity despite regulatory ambiguity.

The regulatory tide began to shift in late 2024. Robinhood relisted SOL in November, citing evolving policy guidance and customer interest. In early 2025, the SEC, under its newly appointed Chair Paul Atkins, dismissed its case against Coinbase and paused proceedings against Binance. While Solana's classification remains unresolved, the industry anticipates a revised framework that could allow blockchain projects to be deemed "sufficiently decentralized," thereby sidestepping securities law constraints. The recent approval of crypto-based ETFs further signals growing regulatory acceptance and may provide a pathway to broader institutional involvement.

Despite previous setbacks, Solana has emerged as a leading platform for retail activity, particularly in the fast-growing sectors of meme coins and NFTs. Phantom, a self-custody wallet built for Solana, reported 10 million monthly active users in 2024, more than 850 million transactions, and 24 million mobile app downloads. One notable catalyst was the January 2025 launch of the TRUMP coin, which coincided with SOL reaching an all-time high of nearly $300.

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