On Friday, Solana (SOL) soared to a new all-time high (ATH), now trading at approximately $261. This breakthrough surpasses its previous peak set in November 2021.

Solana’s rise to a new ATH marks an increase of over 32 times from its lows recorded in December 2022.

Solana Hits All-Time High as Gary Gensler Plans Resignation

Solana’s path to this new high has been anything but smooth. After reaching its previous high in 2021, the platform faced a downturn in 2022 amid a broader crypto bear market, further exacerbated by technical issues and network downtimes.

The collapse of FTX in November 2022 pushed Solana’s price down to around $8.

However, Solana has since made a remarkable recovery, increasing more than 32-fold from its low. Now, Solana enthusiasts believe that SOL could eventually outpace Ethereum (ETH) in market capitalization.

“Solana has been at an all-time high by market cap for a while actually. Now, we’re finally in price discovery. The flippening is coming,” Birch, the founder of PathCrypto, said.

The surge in Solana’s market value coincides with the news of SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s planned resignation, slated for January 20, 2025, as Donald Trump assumes office.

Known for his strict regulatory stance on cryptocurrencies, Gensler’s departure signals a potential shift toward a more crypto-friendly administration. Consequently, this political change is stoking speculations about the approval of a Solana exchange-traded fund (ETF). According to Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett, the SEC has begun engaging with issuers to explore the possibility of a Solana ETF.

“Talks between SEC staff and issuers looking to launch a Solana spot ETF are “progressing” with the SEC now engaging on S-1 applications. Recent engagement from staff, coupled with the incoming pro-crypto administration, is sparking a renewed sense of optimism that a Solana ETF could be approved sometime in 2025,” Terrett claimed.

Previous efforts to launch a Solana ETF were stalled by regulatory roadblocks, often stopping early in the process. However, the changing political environment and the SEC’s increased openness have reignited hopes within the crypto community. Recent filings for a Solana ETF by Canary Capital and BitWise reflect a growing interest and anticipation for regulatory approval.

Despite these encouraging developments, the odds of a Solana ETF approval in 2024 remain low, with Polymarket estimates placing it at around 4%.

Meanwhile, the crypto community is also closely watching Bitcoin as it approaches the highly anticipated $100,000 mark. On Friday, Bitcoin recorded a new high of about $99,300. This milestone is viewed as a pivotal moment for Bitcoin and could impact other cryptocurrencies, including Solana.

ETF issuer WisdomTree’s European division just announced a new ETP based on XRP. This product is currently available in four EU countries, which has led XRP’s price to jump slightly.

ETPs are a common issuer strategy to earn revenue without ETF approval, but Europe will not necessarily approve one even if the US does so.

WisdomTree’s XRP ETP

WisdomTree, one of the Bitcoin ETF issuers in the US, announced that its European branch is offering an exchange-traded product (ETP) based on XRP. This new product is currently available in Germany, Switzerland, France, and the Netherlands. A growing number of issuers have filed for an XRP ETF, but WisdomTree is taking a slightly different tack.

“The WisdomTree Physical XRP ETP offers a simple, secure, and low-cost way to gain exposure to XRP, one of the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. Backed 100% by XRP, XRPW is the lowest-priced XRP ETP in Europe, providing direct spot price exposure,” the announcement claimed.

The possibility of an official XRP ETF is growing with the current bull market, and Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse considers it “inevitable.” Still, it hasn’t happened yet, and ETP offerings allow issuers to somewhat address customers’ requirements. BitWise, which has also filed for an XRP ETF in the US, recently acquired a European ETP issuer to enter the same market.

WisdomTree, however, is no stranger to this market strategy. In May this year, it won approval to offer ETPs based on Bitcoin and Ethereum to British investors.

The UK has not yet approved a full ETF for either of these assets, but WisdomTree still gained market access. Even a fraction of the XRP market could also prove lucrative; the asset’s value spiked today.

WisdomTree Europe’s strategy page does not describe any further actions upon full approval. Even if the US approves an XRP ETF under the SEC’s new leadership, that won’t necessarily benefit WisdomTree’s European branch. For now, these ETPs built on XRP will have to suffice for this market.